Duterte defense team gets first set of evidence

MANILA, Philippines — The defense team of former president Rodrigo Duterte has received details of the first set of evidence that will be presented in the crimes against humanity case filed against him before the International Criminal Court (ICC).

In a three-page communication to the pre-trial chamber handling the proceedings, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan confirmed that they already disclosed “181 items” to the defense.

The first set of evidence, tagged as “package 001,” was classified as “confidential” and were disclosed inter partes or in between parties.

Specific details about the evidence were not released, but the ICC prosecutor said “these items comprise the material cited in the warrant of arrest” against Duterte.

The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I earlier directed the prosecutor to provide observations and respond to several questions relating to evidence and witnesses it intends to present against Duterte.

This is in line with the “disclosure of evidence” process, which ensures that the suspect is “informed of the evidence on which the prosecution intends to rely” during the confirmation of charges hearing, scheduled on Sept. 23.

Specifically, the prosecutor was ordered to answer 15 questions, including information on the number of written pieces of evidence, written statements and non-written evidence such as photos, videos and audio recordings that it intends to submit.

The judges also asked the prosecution to provide general information about the witnesses it intends to present, as well as on whether it plans to submit requests to withhold the identity of any potential witnesses.

The ICC judges also asked Duterte’s camp to provide observations and answer some preliminary questions, such as if they anticipate invoking any ground for excluding criminal responsibility, the need to conduct investigations before the confirmation hearing and the possibility of presenting evidence and calling in witnesses.