By HANA BORDEY, GMA Integrated News
Two witnesses, 16 hours of audio video files, and nearly 9,000 pages of documents are now being prepared by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the confirmation of charges against former President Rodrigo Duterte.
This was disclosed in ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan’s redacted answer to the Pre-Trial Chamber I’s order seeking information on matters related to the conduct of the confirmation proceedings.
According to the document, Khan said that the prosecution has collected a “significant volume of documentary material that requires legal review prior to disclosure” which include 129,358 items composed of 160,679 pages in its database and another 48,235 items composed of 100,864 pages currently in process of being registered in the database.
While the prosecution is “still in the process of determining” the overall quantity of written and non-written evidence that it intends to rely upon at the confirmation hearing, Khan said “at a minimum” this will include the majority of the evidence cited in the application of warrant against Duterte.
Khan said the pieces of evidence that were used for the application of the warrant against Duterte comprised 421 pieces of written evidence with 8,565 pages, nine photographs, and 30 audio video files that are, in total, at least 15.55 hours long.
The documentary evidence relied upon by the prosecution is “predominantly in the original languages of either English, Tagalog, or Cebuano.”
So far, Khan said the prosecution has already disclosed 181 items composed of 2,787 pages last March 21 and they have identified around 160 additional items, including 15 audio-video files with a duration of 5:40:12 that can be immediately disclosed.
Khan said the prosecution intends to disclose these items to the chamber during the course of the week starting April 7, noting that these pieces of evidence are non-witness-related documentary material which they will rely upon at the confirmation hearing.
Witnesses
Likewise, Khan said they currently intend to “call a maximum of two witnesses to testify viva voce at the confirmation hearing.”
The prosecution has requested protective measures for the witnesses that will be called to testify at the confirmation hearing.
He indicated in the document that they have “interviewed” more witnesses, which the prosecution “does not presently intend to rely upon during the confirmation hearing.”
In line with this, Khan said the prosecution will submit requests for the Pre-Trial Chamber to withhold the identity of the witnesses, and they have identified witnesses that will “require protective measures” prior to the disclosure of their identities.
Further, Khan told the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber that it does possess or control materials that are subject to inspection as material to the preparation of the defense and it intends to disclose this to the defense “in the coming days.”
Continuing investigation
While they have gathered materials to use against Duterte, Khan said the prosecution “is continuing its investigation regarding Mr. Duterte” and it intends to review and disclose new evidence during this investigation “on a rolling basis.”
Khan committed to completing the review and disclosure of evidence in its possession no later than 30 days before September 23.
The prosecution will use the English language, including translations of documents originally in Tagalog and Cebuano, in the confirmation hearing, noting that it is the language that Duterte “fully understands and speaks.”
Philippine authorities on March 11 assisted Interpol in serving a warrant of arrest from the ICC against Duterte for crimes against humanity in connection with his drug war.
After his arrest, Duterte was brought to The Hague in the Netherlands.
Duterte on March 13 (Philippine time) entered the Hague Penitentiary Institution or the Scheveningen Prison where he is set to be held while awaiting trial. —VAL, GMA Integrated News
