Kaufmann vs. Kaufman: Author mistaken for Duterte's ICC lawyer has an appeal to Filipinos

Filipinos have seemingly mistaken an American horror fiction author for the lead lawyer of former president Rodrigo Duterte in the International Criminal Court (ICC) proceedings.

On Facebook, Nicholas Kaufmann complained that he has been receiving lots of messages both from supporters and critics of Duterte who mixed him up with British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman (note the single "N" on his last name).

“I am being absolutely flooded today with followers and commenters from the Philippines who I guess don't believe I'm not Duterte's lawyer,” the author said in a post on Tuesday, April 1.

“Our names aren't even spelled the same (he's Kaufman with one N). It's insane!”

On March 21, author Kaufmann already posted on Facebook, saying: “PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, I AM NOT THE ICC LAWYER NICHOLAS KAUFMAN WHO IS REPRESENTING PRESIDENT DUTERTE! PLEASE STOP MESSAGING ME!”

The post has since then been pinned on his profile. 

In his recent post, the author was asked if those who were messaging him were pro or anti Duterte.

“They started out pro-Duterte, but lately I'm getting some anti-Duterte commenters from the Philippines who are apologizing for the others and calling many of them bots,” Kaufmann replied in the comment section.

Kaufmann is a critically acclaimed author from the US and was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award, Thriller Award, and Shirley Jackson Award for his horror and suspense works.

Atty. Kaufman, meanwhile, was appointed in Duterte's ICC case on March 17, after he was arrested and brought to The Hague to face charges in connection with the killings in his administration's war on drugs. —VAL, GMA Integrated News