Some supporters of former president Rodrigo Duterte shared fake posts claiming that personalities Harvey Specter and Mike Ross would join his legal team in his trial at the International Criminal Court.
A social media post claiming “Suits” characters Harvey Specter and Mike Ross will serve as the former president’s “defense attorneys” in his trial for crimes against humanity has been circulating online.e.
The post features the images of the fictional characters with the text: “Harvey Specter, Mike Ross to serve as FPRRD’s defense attorneys in ICC trial.”
FPRRD stands for “Former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.”
RATING: This is fake.
Facts
Harvey Specter and Mike Ross are fictional characters from the USA Network legal drama series “Suits.”
In the show, Harvey is a partner at the fictional law firm Pearson Specter who is known for confidence and ability to win cases.
He is portrayed by American actor Gabriel Macht.
Meanwhile, Mike is a brilliant and unconventional lawyer who serves as the main protagonist of the legal drama.
The character is played by Canadian-American actor Patrick Adams.
Being fictional personalities, Harvey and Mike cannot become part of Duterte’s legal team in real life.
The former president was represented by former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea when Duterte made his initial appearance at the ICC on March 14 (Philippine time) through a video link.
READ: Duterte does not attend first court hearing in The Hague in person
The court at that time read the charges against Duterte related to his administration’s bloody “War on Drugs” campaign he launched during his presidency.
He was also informed of his rights under the Rome Statute.
Medialdea served as Duterte’s defense attorney during his first appearance.
Meanwhile, Vice President Sara Duterte said that British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman will serve as the lead counsel.
The younger Duterte is serving as the family’s representative.
Kaufman’s past clients include Congo Vice President Jean Pierre Bemba and former Central African Republic minister Maxime Mokom who were also charged with crimes against humanity by the ICC.
Why we fact-checked this
Some supporters of Duterte have been circulating the fake post claiming Harvey Specter and Mike Ross will be part of the former presidential’s legal team for his ICC trial.
A Facebook user shared the post with emojis of heart-eyed faces and a smiling-face-with-revolving-hearts.
Duterte was arrested over a warrant issued by the ICC about his alleged crimes against humanity case and was brought to the Hague Penitentiary Institution, where he will be held while awaiting trial.
The next hearing, which will involve the confirmation of charges against him, is scheduled for September 23.
Presiding Judge Iulia Antoanella Motoc said that Duterte can contest the charges, challenge the evidence provided by the prosecutor, and present evidence.
She added that there will be no trial if the charges against the former president are not confirmed.
The ICC accused Duterte of at least 43 killings, with 19 done by his Davao Death Squad when he was Davao City mayor and 24 by the police nationwide during his presidency.
He launched his bloody “War on Drugs” campaign as his signature policy to fulfill his presidential campaign of ridding the country of illegal drugs.
The police said that the initiative has recorded over 6,000 fatalities, but human rights organizations believe it was as high as 30,000.
