MANILA, Philippines – Lawyer Kristina Conti urged supporters of former President Rodrigo Duterte to refrain from spamming the social media accounts of the judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC), as this will not help in the case of the detained former president.

Kristina Conti, who is also an assistant to counsel of the ICC, said that “if you intimidate an officer of the court for the purpose of forcing or persuading the official not to perform or to perform improperly his or her duties, Duterte could have additional charges if these attacks could be traced back to him.”

Conti said that, first, there is a “need to take cognizance of the case. If we throwback the case to the Philippines, magkakagulo. Two, it weighs against the grant of interim relief, precisely in the same manner, he will go back to the Philippines, mahirap yan. And three, because Duterte precisely laid out this plan of vilification – ang mga addict deserve naman niyan mamatay.”

“The ICC will see that this philosophy has really latched in and therefore this is part of the system. There could be additional charges,” Conti said, adding that Article 70 of the Rome Statute talks about offenses against the administrators of justice.

“Nakasasama yan. Hindi yan mapapalaya si Duterte kaya pagnilayan nila kung ano ang gagawin nila,” Conti said, adding that the proper way is to write the court and ask for an opportunity to be heard.

“Dahil kung hindi matalino ang pag-engage mo sa court, kung hindi tama yung pag-engage,” Conti said, it will weigh against the grant of a possible interim release of Duterte.

Duterte’s supporters have been sending messages to the Facebook page of ICC Pre-Trial Chamber Presiding Judge Iulia Motoc, urging the international tribunal to return the detained former president to the Philippines. Some comments have accused Motoc of allegedly bringing chaos to the Philippines, while others are asking for a “fair judgment.”

📷 Screenshot from Judge Iulia Motoc FB