00:00The lead counsel for Rodrigo Duterte's defense, Niklas Kaufman, in his arguments on day four of the ICC pre-trial
00:07hearings, casts doubt on the prosecution's case against his client.
00:11He invokes the principle of indubio pro reo, which means when in doubt, the court must rule for the accused.
00:18Commenting on count two or the alleged murders of high-value targets when Duterte was president, Kaufman says the term
00:24high-value target was merely an operational classification.
00:27HVT is not a code for an instruction to kill or a witch hunt. It was a prioritization tool within
00:37anti-drug operations applied across regions and units on the basis of intelligence assessments, alleged position within drug networks, or
00:48inclusion on watch lists.
00:49For count three, where it is alleged that he targeted low-level drug users and pushers nationwide, Kaufman argues that
00:56routine buy-bust operations are allegedly being falsely recast as sham executions.
01:01He says the legitimacy of these operations were supported by judicial warrants and forensic evidence like gunpowder residue.
01:08He further claims that the prosecution's evidence are uncorroborated insider witness accounts.
01:13This is a
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