A lawyer representing drug war victims called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Wednesday to disclose the country that will host former president Rodrigo Duterte in the event the tribunal grants him an interim release.

ICC-accredited lawyer Joel Butuyan, president of the Center for International Law, emphasized the need to know which nation will temporarily host the erstwhile leader, saying that secrecy may undermine the ongoing probe into Duterte’s notorious bloody drug war.

“That’s our problem because it wasn’t disclosed; it was redacted. It should have been disclosed because this is also an issue of public interest — which country it is. The victims have a public interest in knowing that,” Butuyan said in an interview.

There are 125 state parties to the ICC, 19 of which are Asia Pacific countries, including Timor-Leste, Korea and Japan.

Butuyan said he has no idea which country might have agreed to enter into negotiations with Duterte’s defense team. But earlier, he said the host country would likely be near The Hague, Netherlands, to ensure the accused’s availability for court appearances.

Duterte’s lawyer, Nicholas Kaufman, has petitioned the ICC to temporarily release his client ahead of the confirmation of his charges hearing scheduled for 23 September.

The ICC permits an interim release before trial, but only under strict conditions — such as assurances that the detainee is not a flight risk, will not obstruct the investigation, and is unlikely to commit the alleged offenses again.

Kaufman argued that Duterte met all the conditions and informed the court that a certain country had agreed to host his client should an interim release be granted.

Entries on the petition, however, were redacted, hiding the name of the possible host country.

Victims’ kin fear release

Meanwhile, Dahlia Cuartero, a mother of a drug war victim, cried foul over Duterte’s plea for an interim release.

“Instead of giving us justice, they’re the ones asking for freedom. It’s truly heartbreaking. I shed so many tears when I heard this news; it’s so hard to accept that we haven’t even achieved real justice yet, and here they are already asking for temporary release,” Cuartero said in Filipino.

Echoing concerns of other “extrajudicial” killing victims, Cuartero feared that Duterte’s temporary release from prison would pose a serious threat to their security and safety, knowing the alleged perpetrator is unrestrained.

“We are really worried about our safety. I hope he won’t be allowed to return to the Philippines or be transferred to another country. He should stay at the ICC for our safety,” she added.

The 80-year-old Duterte has been detained at Scheveningen Prison in The Hague since his arrest in March in Manila and will remain there while awaiting the confirmation of charges hearing.

He faces a single count of crimes against humanity in connection with the killings that took place between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019 — covering his tenure as mayor of Davao City and president of the country.

Butuyan previously warned that releasing Duterte would “interfere” with the investigation and “cause reputational damage on the part of the ICC and [its] prosecutors.”

Rights lawyer and former lawmaker Neri Colmenares, also a counsel for the drug war victims, echoed the same concern, claiming that it will “escalate the attacks” being employed by the massive followers of the erstwhile leader against those who will stand as witnesses in his trial.