International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan asserted that former President Rodrigo Duterte’s camp has no valid basis to seek his disqualification from handling the case on crimes against humanity of murder against the former president.
This comes after Duterte’s camp argued that Khan’s previous involvement in matters related to the alleged policy of extrajudicial drug-related killings in the Philippines, as well as his role in other proceedings, creates what they described as an “irreconcilable conflict of interest.”
Duterte’s camp further claimed that Khan failed to disclose a serious conflict of interest in the investigation, which they said should warrant his disqualification.
In his response, Khan emphasized that upon taking his oath in June 2021, he pledged to carry out his duties with impartiality.
He explained that he carefully reviewed whether there were any grounds for disqualification but found no reason for him to be removed from the case.
Khan also clarified that his prior involvements in related issues do not mean he had already expressed an opinion on the case or the individuals concerned, which is the standard used by the Court in deciding disqualification matters.
He added that the threshold for removing an ICC prosecutor must remain high in order to preserve the integrity of the proceedings.
Meanwhile, Khan is currently on self-imposed leave amid allegations of sexual misconduct.—Reymon Montero, Contributor