The legal team of former president Rodrigo Duterte is expecting a ruling from the International Criminal Court (ICC) on their request for interim release within the next few weeks, according to his lead counsel.
“I would hope that within a month it would be decided,” said Nicholas Kaufman in an interview streamed on Facebook last June 30. “Under the Rome Statute, the judges are meant to rule on the request for interim release as speedily as possible.”
Kaufman also revealed their intent to respond to the prosecution’s latest arguments opposing Duterte’s temporary release from ICC custody. He maintained his earlier position that the prosecution had not initially objected to the defense’s application, although a change in Duterte’s proposed host country appears to have influenced the prosecution’s stance.
“There was originally a non-opposition to interim release,” Kaufman said, declining to litigate the issue in public. “The case is a live issue.”
When asked about reports that Belgium and Australia declined to host the former president, Kaufman dismissed them as inaccurate. He suggested that officials like Assistant to Counsel Kristina Conti and Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla may have misunderstood which countries are bound by interim release agreements with the ICC.
“Even non-state parties can host persons who are on interim release from the International Criminal Court should the court approve it,” Kaufman explained, but acknowledged that the current Philippine government has already indicated it won’t receive Duterte even temporarily.
As the legal proceedings continue, Kaufman emphasized his trust in the ICC, despite the recent dismissal of their request to disqualify two judges from the case. “I trust the judges, and I trust the judges took the decision that they took for the right reasons,” he said.
He also rejected proposals that Duterte might find legal remedies under Dutch law while in detention in The Hague. “That’s not the case,” Kaufman clarified, in an apparent swipe at suggestions made by former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.
The ICC has yet to publicly announce its decision on the interim release request.
