📷Atty. Joel Butuyan
An International Criminal Court (ICC)- accredited lawyer has cast doubt on the defense of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman has been officially appointed by Duterte as his defense counsel for the ICC proceedings, according to former Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.
Medialdea confirmed this development on Monday following his visit to Duterte at the Scheveningen Prison, where the former president is being held to face charges of crimes against humanity related to his war on drugs campaign.
“You know, you can be the best and the brightest defense lawyer in the world. But with a client who provided the ammunition to the prosecution? Like in this particular case. I don’t know how you can actually obtain an acquittal,”” said ICC-accredited lawyer Joel Butuyan in his recent interview.
Butuyan expressed confidence in the strength of the prosecution’s case, asserting that the evidence against Duterte was overwhelming.
“So I’m really confident that the evidence of the prosecution is airtight and that we are going to a conviction whoever is going to be the defense counsel,” he added. (TCSP)
