ICC dismisses prosecutor behind Putin and Netanyahu arrest warrants
Karim Khan (Photo: Peter Dejong/Pool via REUTERS)
Member states of the International Criminal Court voted to dismiss
prosecutor Karim
Khan amid allegations of sexual harassment, Reuters reported
on July 24.
According to two diplomatic sources cited, 82 of the court's 125 member states voted to suspend Khan. The secret ballot took place July 24 at UN headquarters in New York, France24 reported. Khan was not at the meeting; he is barred from entering the United States after sanctions imposed by the Trump administration.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported that a lawyer who worked under Khan accused him of repeatedly forcing her to have sex and of trying to persuade her to withdraw her complaint, citing the sensitive nature of the court's probe into alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza. The allegations surfaced ahead of Khan's request for arrest warrants for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant, prompting suggestions that the Israel investigation might have been used to shift attention away from the prosecutor.
Khan has denied the allegations and called them politically motivated. His temporary suspension followed pressure from some court staff and human rights groups demanding an independent inquiry.
On June 9, the ICC said Khan had been suspended while an investigation into the harassment allegations proceeded. Reuters also reported Nov. 9, 2024, that the court's governing body would launch an external investigation into Khan after concerns that an internal review might not be independent; a source told Reuters the alleged victim did not trust the court's internal oversight, whose new chair is a former Khan staffer.
Khan previously issued arrest warrants on March 17, 2023,
for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Russia's children's rights
commissioner, Maria Lvova‑Belova, accusing them of
unlawfully deporting children from Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022.
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