MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has submitted a provisional list of witnesses that it intends to present in the case against former president Rodrigo Duterte.
The submission of the list was confirmed in a filing dated June 29 and made public yesterday. The names of the potential witnesses, however, remained confidential.
“The prosecution has provided the pseudonym for each witness. The prosecution notes that the number of witnesses is likely to increase from the Provisional List of Witnesses in light of the prosecution’s ongoing investigations,” read the filing signed by ICC deputy prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang.
Niang told the trial judges that the prosecution will provide additional details, including the summary of the witnesses’ testimony, when it submits the final list on Aug. 31.
The trial of the 81-year-old Duterte, who is facing charges of crimes against humanity, is expected to start on Nov. 30.
Niang earlier said the prosecution may rely on evidence from 60 to 70 witnesses during the trial, further investigations and addition of potential witnesses.
These include 31 insider witnesses, 17 crime-based witnesses and 12 others “who are relevant to explain the background and the contextual elements of the crimes charged.”
The prosecutor intends to call 25 to 30 witnesses to provide viva voce or verbal testimony during the trial.
The rest of the witnesses will be presented under ICC’s Rule 68, which allows “the introduction of previously recorded audio or video testimony of a witness, or the transcript or other documented evidence of such testimony.”
“The prosecution intends to call as many of its witnesses as possible to testify in person at the seat of the Court,” Niang said in his May 15 filing.
“However, the prosecution anticipates that some witnesses may need to testify via audio/video link where the witness is unable to travel to the seat of the Court,” he added.
The prosecution estimated that its direct examination of the witnesses could take 175 to 200 hours.
The ICC Trial Chamber III earlier reminded both parties to ensure that the presentation of evidence “must take place in the shortest and clearest way” and that unnecessary and lengthy legal arguments should be avoided.
The next status conference is scheduled on July 14.