'Please stop messaging me': American author mistaken for Duterte's ICC lawyer

An American author has appealed to pro-Duterte supporters to "stop messaging him" after some have mistaken him as the lawyer representing the former Philippine leader at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands.

"I am being absolutely flooded today with followers and commenters from the Philippines who I guess don't believe I'm not Duterte's lawyer. Our names aren't even spelled the same (he's Kaufman with one N). It's insane!" Nicholas Kaufmann wrote on Facebook on Wednesday.

Kaufmann explained that the messages he first got were from the supporters of former president Rodrigo Duterte, but lately, he has been receiving commenters from Filipinos, too, who are apologizing on their behalf.

"Lately I'm getting some anti-Duterte commenters from the Philippines who are apologizing for the others and calling many of them bots," the author said in response to one of the comments.

Kaufmann also previously called out those who had been leaving messages for him.

"People of the Philippines, I am *NOT* the ICC lawyer Nicholas Kaufman who is representing President Duterte! Please stop messaging me!"

Kaufmann is a New York-based horror, urban fantasy, and adventure fiction writer. His work has been nominated for the Bram Stoker Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, the International Thriller Writers Award, and the Dragon Award.

Meanwhile, seasoned international lawyer Nicholas Kaufman is a British-Israeli barrister who has previously defended figures accused of war crimes and human rights violations.

He has served as counsel for Jean-Pierre Bemba, a former Congolese vice president, and Aisha Gaddafi, the daughter of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

His most recent high-profile case involved Maxime Mokom Gawaka, a militia leader from the Central African Republic, though his representation there ended due to a conflict of interest.

Educated at the University of Cambridge, Kaufman is not just a trial lawyer but also a legal strategist specializing in litigation, crisis public relations, and reputation management.

He represents Duterte at the ICC, who is being tried for charges of crimes against humanity in relation to his drug war during his term as president from 2016 to 2019, which, according to government data, left 6,000 individuals killed by the authorities.