By Gabriel Kim Leal
(March 20, 2025) – A human rights group denounced the wave of online attacks targeting families of victims of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal war on drugs and an official of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Karapatan noted an increase in sexist and hate speech on social media, particularly directed at female kin and their legal advocates, including Atty. Kristina Conti, an assistant to counsel of the ICC.
“She has been a subject of disinformation, ridicule, sexist remarks, and threats, while bravely speaking for her clients,” said Karapatan in a statement. “Many others have yet to report cases of extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations because of this tactic of victim-bashing.”
Duterte is detained in the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands, while facing charges of crimes against humanity over his bloody war on drugs, which claimed around 30,000 lives, including children, according to human rights groups.
After his arrest on March 11, Duterte’s supporters took to social media, accusing the ICC of kidnapping, echoing the narrative of the former president’s camp. Some even swarmed an online profile of ICC judge Iulia Motoc to demand Duterte’s release after his pre-trial hearing on March 14.
Karapatan slammed these actions as a “well-funded” and politically motivated “psychological war operation” designed to intimidate families of victims of Duterte’s war on drugs and those seeking justice.
It urged the public to stand in solidarity with Conti and others facing online harassment.
“These types of operations, which include red- and terror-tagging, have long been resorted to by the powerful, including the Duterte and (Bongbong) Marcos Jr. regimes, to cover up the ugly truth about their crimes and escape accountability,” added Karapatan.
Atty. Joel Butuyan, a private lawyer accredited by the ICC, already posited that Duterte is unlikely to be granted interim release, citing concerns that “powerful forces” could interfere in the case.
The ICC set his confirmation of charges on September 23, which will determine whether his trial will proceed.
(PM)
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