‘ICC probe not affected by Khan’s DQ’

MANILA, Philippines — The disqualification of International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan from participating in the case against former president Rodrigo Duterte will not stop the ongoing investigation into the situation in the Philippines, the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) said.

In a statement on Wednesday night, the OTP said the Appeals Chamber ruling that disqualified Khan does not affect the continuation of the proceedings in the case as it is being led by Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang.

“The Office’s independent and impartial investigation into alleged Rome Statute crimes in relation to the Situation in the Philippines is ongoing,” it said.

“This investigation focuses on crimes allegedly committed on the territory of the Philippines between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019 in the context of the so-called ‘War on Drugs’ campaign,” it added.

The OTP maintained that the investigative and prosecutorial activities, including the application for warrant against Duterte, were led by a multi-disciplinary team under Niang’s supervision.

“The Office has been able to advance the case against Mr. Duterte solely on the strength of independently gathered evidence, and information collected from a wide range of sources, including interviews with witnesses, information from States, international partners and civil society, as well as publicly available information,” it said.

“The victims and survivors in the Philippines situation deserve justice and accountability. The Office’s activities in this case will continue, contributing to ensuring that justice is pursued impartially and independently,” it added.

The ICC has released the public redacted version of the Appeals Chamber decision that disqualified Khan.

Defense lawyer Nicholas Kaufman earlier accused him of conflict of interest after it was discovered that he previously represented, in his private capacity, some drug war victims in filing a communication to then ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, Khan’s predecessor.

In the ruling, the Appeals Chamber maintained that the defense failed to demonstrate actual bias on the part of the prosecutor.

But it also noted that “a number of factors may give rise to an objectively reasonable appearance of bias in the eyes of a reasonable observer, such that they would conclude that the Prosecutor could be expected to have formed an opinion on the case against Mr. Duterte.”

“Therefore, the Appeals Chamber grants the Request and disqualifies the Prosecutor from the case of The Prosecutor v. Rodrigo Roa Duterte,” read the ruling.

Kaufman, in response to the decision, maintained that Khan’s “preconceived views as to Mr. Duterte’s guilt contaminated the investigation that he later supervised.”

But he did not disclose any future action in relation to the matter.

Meanwhile, Kristina Conti, an ICC-accredited assistant to counsel, said they do not anticipate a significant interruption in the work of the OTP even with this decision.

“The disqualification of Khan, who assisted a group of victims prepare a communication in 2018 prior to his appointment as prosecutor, is intended to ensure fairness and preserve the integrity of the proceedings,” she said.

“With this matter resolved in a swift and precise manner, we hope that the court can also deal with the other issues pending in the same way. The two major issues are: whether Duterte is fit to stand trial, and whether the court has jurisdiction to hear the case. Victims, of course, are eagerly awaiting for trial to begin,” she added.