The lead defense counsel of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday rejected key findings of judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC), saying the prosecution’s case relies on “uncorroborated statements” from admitted killers who are cooperating with investigators.

In a statement, British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman criticized the ruling of ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I on the confirmation of charges related to Duterte’s controversial anti-drug campaign.

Kaufman said the chamber concluded that the word “neutralise,” allegedly used in the context of a state or organizational policy during anti-drug operations, was understood by those involved to mean “to kill.”

“The Pre-Trial Chamber found that the crucial word ‘neutralise’… was understood by those involved in the operations to mean to ‘kill,’” Kaufman said.

The defense lawyer argued that this interpretation was based largely on testimony from cooperating witnesses who he described as “vicious self-confessed murderers.” 

He said the credibility of these witnesses had not yet been assessed during the confirmation stage of the proceedings.

According to Kaufman, the cooperating witnesses could be granted protection or relocation as part of the prosecution’s witness program. He also claimed that these witnesses would be excused from prosecution and may be given new identities.

“At trial, the Defence will prove that the aforementioned ‘State policy’ is a complete fiction,” Kaufman said. “The Defence will also show that the evidence of these criminal witnesses… has zero weight.”

The ICC probe covered killings that occurred from November 2011 to March 2019, which allegedly killed thousands of Filipinos.

The former strongman faces three counts of crimes against humanity for murder, linked to 49 killing incidents involving 78 victims.

“The Chamber finds that there are substantial grounds to believe that Mr Duterte is criminally responsible for the crimes charged in Counts 1-3 as an indirect co-perpetrator, and/or for ordering and/or inducing, and/or for aiding and abetting the commission of the crimes, pursuant to articles 25(3)(a), (b) and (c) of the Statute,” said the pre-trial chamber. 

However, unlike most rulings, Duterte must first secure authorization before he can file an appeal.

“Trials in the ICC are fair and impartial and the defense would have sufficient time to prepare its case while respecting the rights of victims,” said ICC spokesperson Oriane Maliet.