Kaufman says his client killed no one. But Duterte said before that he did.

MANILA, Philippines – Former president Rodrigo Duterte’s defense lawyer Nicholas Kaufman reiterated on Friday, February 27, during the last day of the International Criminal Court pre-trial hearing that his client did not kill any person, contrary to the prosecution and victims’ allegations that Duterte killed thousands in the name of his war on drugs. 

Kaufman said he had a chance to speak with Duterte in detention, who told him this: “I’ve never murdered anyone, and they talk about thousands.”

However, this claim by Kaufman can be contradicted by Duterte’s own words in the past. There’s already a list of instances where the former president himself admitted that he had killed or had ordered killings.

In 2015, months before announcing his presidential bid, Duterte admitted to “maybe” killing a man when he was just 17 years old. In the same year, he even mentioned that he allegedly killed around 1,700. (READ: Duterte: I killed 700? No, make that 1,700)

Kaufman, in his closing statement on Friday, questioned once more the evidence presented by the prosecution and the defense. 

He took a swipe at the prosecution’s evidence showing Duterte’s alleged link to killings. Kaufman said the prosecution only had one incident that showed that Duterte really gave direct orders. 

Similar to his opening statement, Kaufman once again attacked the mainstream media, whom he had previously accused of highlighting salacious content against his client. In reality, Duterte was the one who was hostile toward journalists. Apart from harassment and threats, newsrooms faced shutdown orders under the Duterte administration, while some reporters were either charged or arrested. 

Duterte’s lawyer also once again attacked the prosecution’s witnesses — who might include Lascañas — as he did in the past hearings. 

– Rappler.com