MANILA, Philippines — The families of individuals who were victims of extrajudicial killings in former President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal war on drugs are ready to share their sentiments and
The families of individuals who were victims of extrajudicial killings in former President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal war on drugs are ready to share their sentiments and concerns to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and seek reparation, one of their lawyers said on Saturday.
Duterte was arrested last week and handed over to the ICC in The Hague, the Netherlands, to face trial on charges of crimes against humanity, specifically murder, for the thousands killed in his drug war.
The Pre-Trial Chamber (PTC) of the ICC, in an order dated March 21, directed the court Registry to file “observations” on the application of drug war victims’ families to participate in the case against Duterte. The Registry is tasked with handling court documents and to ensure that proper procedures are observed.
According to human rights lawyer Kristina Conti, who has been assisting the families of the victims in the investigation of the case against the former president, the order meant that the Registry should be able to establish the application “mechanisms and modes” for those who want to be involved at the pretrial stage.
According to the order, this would involve the admission process for victims’ relatives interested to join the proceedings; submission of application forms; proof of identity of applicants; and their legal representation in the proceedings.
These documents should be turned over to the pretrial court by April 2.
In a phone interview with the Inquirer, Conti said that the term “victims” in the ICC case referred not only those who were killed in the drug war themselves but also their family members who suffered “psychological harm” from their violent deaths.
The group Rise Up for Life and for Rights, which Conti represents, is assisting at least 200 families of victims of extrajudicial killings in the case against Duterte.
