ICC Prosecutor Dismissed Over Sexual Scandal

Member states of the International Criminal Court (ICC) have dismissed Karim Khan as prosecutor following allegations of sexual misconduct. According to diplomatic sources speaking on condition of anonymity, 82 of the 125 member states voted in favour of the dismissal during a session held on Friday (24/7) local time. Khan, 56, has denied any wrongdoing. His lawyers stated that the process leading to the vote was unlawful, procedurally unfair, and unsupported by evidence. The dismissal follows an announcement by the United States that it would launch a new diplomatic campaign to dissolve the ICC, which it views as a threat to American sovereignty. Diplomats serving as the court’s oversight body concluded last month that Khan had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a junior ICC lawyer and should be removed. Khan’s legal team told Reuters that he denies having ‘any sexual relationship’ with the staff member. The vote took place at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Earlier, during a visit to the Philippines, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio referred to ‘crazy and deranged people’ at the ICC, asserting that no US political or military official would ever be tried by the court. The United States, which is not a member of the ICC, has imposed sanctions on 11 ICC judges and prosecutors, including Khan, following the court’s issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as a previous investigation into US forces in Afghanistan.