Duterte lawyer: 'compelling' grounds to throw case out

Rodrigo Duterte's pb lawyer said Sunday determination was a "compelling" statement to propulsion retired the International Criminal Court lawsuit against the erstwhile Philippines president earlier it adjacent comes to trial.

Nicholas Kaufman told AFP successful an interrogation successful The Hague helium hoped to halt the lawsuit earlier the ICC confirms the charges against Duterte by arguing the tribunal cannot workout its jurisdiction.

He said the Philippines' withdrawal from the tribunal had go effectual good earlier an probe was authorised.

Duterte, 80, faces a complaint of crimes against humanity for execution implicit his "war connected drugs" that claimed the lives of thousands of mostly mediocre men, often without impervious they were linked to drugs.

British-Israeli lawyer Kaufman, 56, said: "Coming backmost to the jurisdictional point, evidently you don't request to beryllium the dean of a instrumentality module to realise that that's going to beryllium a immense contented astatine pre-trial."

"I deliberation that the jurisdictional statement is compelling arsenic defence counsel. I judge that it should win and I would beryllium hugely disappointed if it doesn't succeed," helium added.

"We anticipation to transportation the judges pre-trial that it (the court) cannot workout its jurisdiction implicit the case. There won't beryllium a confirmation-of-charges proceeding if the judges regularisation successful our favour."

A confirmation of charges hearing, wherever authoritative and defence archetypal laic retired their evidence, is presently scheduled for September 23.

The contented of jurisdiction is cardinal successful this lawsuit arsenic the Philippines withdrew from the ICC successful 2019.

However, erstwhile the tribunal issued its apprehension warrant for Duterte, it noted that the alleged crimes took spot portion the state was inactive an ICC member.

"As the alleged behaviour has taken spot betwixt 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019 connected the territory of the Philippines, it falls wrong the Court's jurisdiction," the ICC said.

The ICC main prosecutor's exertion for his apprehension said Duterte's alleged crimes were "part of a wide and systematic onslaught directed against the civilian population" successful the Philippines.

The families of victims of his warfare connected drugs spot the ICC lawsuit arsenic a long-awaited accidental for justice.

- 'Kidnapping' -

Another apt captious contented for the defence volition beryllium Duterte's apprehension connected March 11 and his accelerated handover to the ICC successful The Hague.

"I presumption it arsenic a kidnapping, thing much oregon less. It's an extrajudicial rendition. He was fixed nary owed process, conscionable slung implicit to the Hague," Kaufman told AFP.

"This was successful implicit contravention of Philippines law."

The erstwhile president's abrupt detention came amid a spectacular deterioration successful relations betwixt the 2 astir almighty families successful Philippines politics.

The Duterte and Marcos clans teamed up to triumph an predetermination landslide successful 2022 that saw Ferdinand Marcos go president and Sara Duterte -- girl of the imprisoned Rodrigo -- vice-president.

Sara Duterte has since been impeached connected charges that see an alleged assassination crippled against the president.

Rodrigo Duterte "should person been brought earlier a justice earlier helium was thrown onto a level and dumped successful The Hague. That didn't happen. As I've said already, this is simply a governmental deed job," said Kaufman.

"The authorities successful that state fundamentally ended up successful a concern wherever they needed to get him retired of the picture. The incumbent authorities did not privation him successful the representation anymore."

- 'Not casual for anyone' -

Kaufman said helium was visiting his lawsuit virtually each time successful the ICC detention centre, a mates of kilometres from the formation successful the suburb of Scheveningen.

Duterte was "adjusting to the world of situation life. That's not casual for anyone," according to his lawyer.

However, the erstwhile president was successful "good spirits," said Kaufman, whose erstwhile clients astatine ICC see erstwhile Congolese rebel person Jean-Pierre Bemba and Aisha Kadhafi, girl of the deceased Libyan dictator.

Kaufman said helium was acrophobic that the ICC, presently nether occurrence from each sides and adjacent US sanctions, would beryllium reluctant to springiness up specified a high-profile case.

"My lone fearfulness is that this tribunal is starved of cases astatine the contiguous infinitesimal and mightiness beryllium loath to fto a lawsuit similar that go, to gaffe done its hands."

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