ICC members dismiss prosecutor Karim Khan
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Karim Khan denies any wrongdoing and his lawyers have called the process that led to the vote unlawful, procedurally unfair and unsupported by evidence.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- The International Criminal Court voted to dismiss prosecutor Karim Khan over allegations of an inappropriate sexual relationship, with 82 of 125 member states supporting his removal.
- Khan denies any wrongdoing and calls the dismissal process unlawful and unfair; his accuser publicly repeated her claims of a non-consensual relationship.
- The US, not an ICC member, criticised the court harshly and launched a campaign against it; a new prosecutor election will begin but no replacement is expected before 2027.
AI generated
THE HAGUE – Member states of the International Criminal Court voted on July 24 to dismiss Karim Khan as prosecutor following allegations of sexual misconduct, two diplomatic sources told Reuters.
According to the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, 82 of the court’s 125 member states voted in favour of the prosecutor’s removal.
Khan, 56, denies any wrongdoing and his lawyers have called the process that led to the vote unlawful, procedurally unfair and unsupported by evidence.
Khan’s dismissal follows an announcement by the United States that it will launch a renewed diplomatic campaign to dismantle the ICC, which it says is a threat to its sovereignty.
Diplomats running the court’s oversight body decided in June that the British barrister had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a junior ICC lawyer and should be fired.
Member states largely followed that conclusion in a vote at the United Nations in New York on July 24.
Rubio decries ‘lunatics’ at the court
During a visit to the Philippines on July 23, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there were “lunatics and crazies involved in the ICC” and there was no way any US political or military officials would ever go on trial at the court, reiterating previous criticism.
The United States, which is not a member, has imposed sanctions on 11 ICC judges and prosecutors, including Khan, citing the ICC’s arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as former defence minister Yoav Gallant, and a past probe into US troops in Afghanistan.
Election process to begin
Khan’s accuser spoke publicly for the first time last week in an interview with CNN in which she repeated her allegations that the prosecutor had a non-consensual sexual relationship with her.
Lawyers for Khan told Reuters he denied “any sexual relationship of any kind” with the staff member.
Khan’s dismissal immediately triggers the election process for a new ICC prosecutor who is not expected to be voted in before 2027.
Any active ICC warrants will remain in place even if Khan is dismissed because only ICC judges have the authority to withdraw warrants. REUTERS
