Eighty-two of the 125 countries that are parties to the International Criminal Court (ICC) voted this evening in favour of dismissing Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan (56) following allegations that he sexually assaulted a female colleague.
The 125 member states of the International Criminal Court (ICC) decided this evening to dismiss Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan (56) following allegations of sexual assault.
Eighty-two countries in the ICC’s Assembly of States Parties voted to dismiss the 56-year-old British prosecutor.
An internal investigation found that Khan had committed non-consensual sexual acts against a subordinate employee, who has been identified only as “Sarah”.
According to the ICC’s report, the non-consensual sexual contact between Khan and the female lawyer included serious unwanted touching and allegedly took place in Khan’s office, at his private residence, and while travelling. Khan denies any wrongdoing.
The ICC’s investigative body recommended in its report that Khan be removed from office. That recommendation was confirmed by the vote, which took place in New York.
Earlier in the day, Norway, represented by State Secretary Andreas Motzfeldt Kravik, told Aftenposten that it would vote in favour of dismissal.
Counsel for the Chief Prosecutor maintains that the case is political and solely concerns Khan’s efforts to seek the imprisonment of several senior Israeli leaders in the aftermath of the Gaza war.
In an interview with CNN, “Sarah” dismissed the rumours circulating online that she is affiliated with Israeli intelligence. She explained that she underwent extensive security vetting in order to obtain her position at the ICC, where she worked closely with both Khan and his predecessor.
“If there had been even the slightest suspicion that I was an agent of a foreign state, I would have been removed from my position,” she said.
The United States has long been highly critical of the Court and has imposed personal sanctions on 11 ICC judges, including Khan. This is in response to the Court’s arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
Israel is not among the countries that have acceded to the Rome Statute (Roma-vedtektene) and is therefore not a party to the ICC. Nevertheless, Khan maintains that the ICC has jurisdiction over Israel and had additional arrest warrants against Israeli ministers in preparation when he was compelled to step aside temporarily last spring while the investigation was initiated.
During a visit to the Philippines yesterday, Thursday 23 July, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that there are “lunatics and crazy people involved” in the ICC.
It also became clear this evening that Venezuela is withdrawing from the ICC.
The process of appointing a new Chief Prosecutor will begin immediately, but according to Reuters it is unlikely to be completed before next year.
Correction: In an earlier version of this article, we inadvertently wrote that Norway would vote against Khan’s dismissal. The correct information is that Norway voted in favour.