ICC prosecutor pursues Duterte probe in active investigation

Despite former president Rodrigo Duterte being in International Criminal Court (ICC) custody, the ICC’s chief prosecutor has confirmed that the investigation into his administration’s controversial war on drugs remains active.

“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 reveal the scope of the ongoing investigation, was redacted. Khan’s original filing was submitted to the Pre-Trial Chamber I on April 4, with a public redacted version released nearly two weeks later.

ICC Investigation Expands Scope of Duterte’s Alleged Crimes

Based on earlier documents and disclosures, several suspects are also under investigation by the ICC for their involvement in 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, highlighted the possibility of Duterte facing additional charges of crimes against humanity, including 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,” Andres 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 for crimes against humanity of murder, citing 19 killings allegedly committed by the DDS and 24 that occurred during the drug war under Oplan Tokhang. Andres, an ICC-accredited lawyer, expressed hope that the rape and torture charges would 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 a procedural step where pre-trial judges determine if there is sufficient evidence for the case to proceed 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 complete its disclosure for the confirmation hearings by July 1, stating that only evidence “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,” they added.

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