The camp representing alleged drug war victims in the Philippines is seen pushing back against efforts to remove Karim Khan as lead prosecutor against former President Rodrigo Duterte in the crime against humanity case he is facing before the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The victims’ lawyer, Paolina Massida, has asked the ICC for more time to formally respond to the bid filed by Duterte’s lawyer on 6 August seeking Khan’s disqualification.

This was despite the fact that last week, Kristina Conti, one of the Filipino legal counsels of the drug war victims, said Khan’s removal would have little or no impact on the case.

Conti maintained then that Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye had already taken over Khan’s role to ensure that the proceedings would continue.

But in a submission dated 15 August, Massida showed she was not yet ready to let Khan go despite the sexual charges he is facing.

Massida said the ICC only belatedly notified her of Kaufman’s filing, thereby preventing the victims’ legal team from providing a timely response within the required 10-day window.

Kaufman’s filing included documents that primarily formed the basis of Duterte’s camp to disqualify Khan. As Duterte’s lead counsel, he has asked the ICC to disqualify Khan, citing concerns of impartiality or lack thereof.

The British-Israeli lawyer accused Khan of previously handling a case identical to Duterte and, hence, must be eliminated for allegedly violating several provisions of the Rome Statute and the ICC.

Khan’s continued role as prosecutor compromises the fairness of the proceedings, given his prior involvement in cases similar to those raised against Duterte, Kaufman averred.

Further, he argued that this creates a conflict of interest that violates the principles enshrined in the Rome Statute. The ICC has yet to issue a ruling on Kaufman’s request or on Massida’s plea for additional time to respond.

To recall, Massida also opposed the defense’s petition for Duterte’s temporary release, asserting that it would be a “great destabilizing factor to the volatile security” in the Philippines.

Release opposed

Likewise, Massida claimed Duterte’s release would “pose a direct and significant danger to the victims” of this notorious anti-drug campaign.

Kaufman earlier told the ICC that Khan, who is on a self-imposed leave due to allegations of sexual misconduct, had represented drug war victims in his capacity as a private lawyer.

He asserted that this violated Rule 34(1)(b) of the ICC’s Rules of Procedure and Evidence, which warrants the disqualification of a judge or prosecutor due to “involvement, in his or her private capacity, in any previous legal proceedings.

In the ICC, the prosecutor must “cover all facts and evidence relevant to an assessment of whether there is criminal responsibility, and must gather both incriminating and exonerating evidence against an accused, thus the demand for impartiality.

Kaufman contended that Khan “may have exploited the information that he had acquired as a victims’ representative,” and this “blatant conflict of interest” warrants his disqualification.

Duterte’s lawyer alleged that Khan did not seek a waiver from his former clients before spearheading the drug war probe, thereby “abusing the criminal process to push forward an investigation in which he had an undeclared personal interest.”

“When assuming the role of Chief Prosecutor, Mr. Khan took on the statutory obligation of actively seeking exculpatory evidence. Yet such exculpatory evidence could, by its very nature, cast doubt on the testimony provided by the same people whose interests he had been charged to protect,” Kaufman said.

Khan assumed his post in 2021, succeeding then-chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, who began the preliminary probe into the drug-war killings as early as February 2018, nearly two years into Duterte’s presidency.

Duterte, 80, has been detained at Scheveningen Prison in The Hague, Netherlands, since his arrest on 11 March in Manila for a single charge of crimes against humanity committed between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019, spanning his time as mayor of Davao City and his presidency.

The drug war killings saw more than 6,000 people killed, based on the government’s data.