Manila, Philippines – More than a month before former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s confirmation hearing on his International Criminal Court (ICC) case, his defense team appealed before the court to disqualify the Chief Prosecutor from his case.
In an appeal submitted on August 7, Duterte’s defense team cited conflict of interest on Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan’s part as the grounds of the disqualification request.
Before Khan was sworn as ICC’s Chief Prosecutor in 2021, he was a private lawyer for hire and represented victims of alleged extra judicial drug-related killings in the Philippines way back 2018.
The defense argued that this previous engagement leads to a conflict of interest and may contaminate the integrity of the investigation.
The defense further noted that Khan exploited the information from the previous case, and has a personal interest in convicting Duterte.
Article 42(7) of the ICC rules prohibits a prosecutor being doubted of their impartiality on any grounds, from participating in an investigation or case.—Mia Layaguin, Eurotv News