Duterte's lawyer denies restricting drug war victims' participation in ICC

Lawyer Nicholas Kaufman, former President Rodrigo Duterte's lead counsel at the International Criminal Court (ICC), denied claims that he sought to restrict drug war victims' participation by requiring specific identification documents.

Kaufman stated in an interview on Tuesday, April 22, and again on Wednesday, April 23, that the allegations made by victim representatives Kristina Conti and Joel Butuyan were false, calling them a 'big lie'.

He emphasized that his team's request was merely for the ICC to require ID documents verifiable within the Philippines, similar to those used by the Social Security System (SSS), but noted that victims have not yet been accepted as official representatives.

Butuyan countered Kaufman's claims, saying any person can comment on what is happening at the ICC and called Kaufman's statements 'fake news', urging him to focus on the merits of the case rather than technicalities.