International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan has firmly clarified that there is no basis for his removal from the case of former President Rodrigo Duterte. Khan maintains that the request to have him recused is without merit.
He said that his plan to lead the case as prosecutor is still ongoing.
Khan added that he has already clarified to the prosecutor and the pre-trial chamber that there is no basis for him to be removed from hearing the case of Duterte, who is currently in custody at the ICC.
Khan’s clarification was in response to the proposal by Duterte’s camp to disqualify him for his alleged failure to disclose his conflict of interest.
On the Duterte side, Khan represented 100 victims of alleged extrajudicial killings in the country in 2018.
Therefore, the prosecutor clarified that they were not directly involved in the investigation or even in interviewing the victims, but they participated pro bono in the study and presentation to former Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda.
