ICC prosecutor: Probe still ongoing vs Duterte

MANILA, Philippines — Despite former president Rodrigo Duterte already being in International Criminal Court custody, the ICC’s chief prosecutor confirmed that investigation into his administration’s brutal war on drugs is still ongoing.

“The Prosecution intends to review and disclose any new evidence collected during this investigation on a rolling basis,” ICC prosecutor Karim Khan told pre-trial judges.

A portion of the 10-page document, which could indicate the scope of the continuing investigation, was redacted. Khan’s original filing was submitted to the Pre-Trial Chamber I on April 4, with a public redacted version released almost two weeks later.

Based on earlier documents and disclosures, several suspects are also subject of the ICC investigation into the nationwide drug war and the earlier Davao death squad (DDS) killings.

In an interview with The STAR, Gilbert Andres, counsel for some of the victims, also noted the possibility of Duterte facing additional charges of crimes against humanity for rape and torture.

“The confirmation of charges is the process wherein the prosecutor will actually define the boundaries of the charge against the suspect. So it’s still possible to include torture, still possible to include rape,” he said.

In the original application for Duterte’s arrest warrant, the ICC prosecutor cited 45 acts of murder, four acts of torture and three acts of rape as the “representative sample of the multiple acts of violence” that could constitute crimes against humanity.

The Pre-Trial Chamber I issued the arrest warrant only for crimes against humanity of murder, citing 19 killings allegedly committed by the DDS and 24 that took place during the drug war under Oplan Tokhang.

Andres, an ICC-accredited lawyer, expressed hope that the rape and torture charges will be included in the official charges.

Not a mini-trial

In its April 17 ruling, the Pre-Trial Chamber I reminded parties that the upcoming confirmation of charges hearing on Sept. 23 “is of a limited scope and should not devolve into a mini-trial.”

The confirmation of charges hearing is part of the ICC procedure where pre-trial judges determine if there is enough evidence for the case to go to trial.

If the charges are confirmed, the case will be assigned to a trial chamber, where additional evidence may be presented.

Pre-trial judges directed the prosecution to finish its disclosure for the confirmation hearings by July 1, saying only those “that (are) of true relevance to the case and capable of supporting a particular factual allegation underlying the requisite legal elements” should be disclosed.

“The Chamber recalls that, while the Prosecution is entitled to continue investigating at this stage of the proceedings, neither the disclosure process nor the confirmation of charges hearing may be made conditional on the completion of additional investigations,” the pre-trial judges said.

“For this reason, the Prosecution shall conduct its investigative activities in a way that will not affect the disclosure process or the conduct of the confirmation of charges proceedings and hearing,” it added.