Duterte camp seeks disqualification of ICC prosecutor Khan

Former President Rodrigo Duterte's defense team has asked the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to disqualify Prosecutor Karim Khan from the case on the ground that he "failed to disclose a grievous conflict of interest."

The former president’s defense team, led by Nicholas Kaufman, claimed that Khan had previously represented the alleged victims of the Duterte administration’s drug war as a private lawyer and ''seemingly exploited'' the information he had gathered when he became chief ICC prosecutor in June 2021.

“This request to disqualify Mr. Khan is grounded in an irreconcilable conflict of interest arising out of his former [REDACTED] representation of [REDACTED] '[REDACTED] victims' of an alleged policy of extrajudicial drug-related killings in the Philippines and his subsequent role as Chief ICC Prosecutor, charged with overseeing a fair and impartial investigation of that very same policy of killing,” the document dated August 7 read. 

“When assuming the role of Chief Prosecutor in June 2021, and proceeding to oversee the investigation in the Philippines, 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,” it added. “There is nothing to suggest that Mr. Khan has sought a waiver from [REDACTED] the '[REDACTED] victims' that he had formerly represented.” 

The Duterte camp also cited the sexual misconduct allegations against Khan. 

“Additionally, Mr. Khan’s current self-imposed leave of absence to deal with allegations of sexual abuse and retaliatory acts perpetrated against his staff rebuts the presumption to which he would otherwise be entitled; namely, that he is of ‘high moral’ character and that his notifications should be taken as gospel,” the defense team said.

It added that “[A] fair and informed observer could reasonably perceive bias warranting the Prosecutor’s disqualification.” 

Article 42(7) of the Rome Statute prohibits the Prosecutor from participating “in any matter in which [his] impartiality might reasonably be doubted on any ground."

''Given the imminence of the confirmation of charges hearing, presently scheduled for September 23, 2025, the defense respectfully requests that the Appeals Chamber swiftly adjudicate this request to ensure that Mr. Khan is precluded from further participation in, and contamination of, the present case,'' the defense team said.

Duterte was arrested in the Philippines by local authorities on March 11 based on a warrant issued by the ICC.

He is currently detained at the Scheveningen Prison in The Hague on crimes against humanity charges in connection with the killings under his war on drugs when he was mayor of Davao City and when he was president of the Philippines.

Government records showed that there were over 6,000 drug suspects killed in police operations during the previous administration's drug war. Human rights organizations, however, said that the death toll may have reached 30,000 due to unreported incidents. —VBL, GMA Integrated News