Management at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has suspended its chief prosecutor, amid an ongoing sexual scandal that has complicated the work of the Hague-based international tribunal.
The announcement, on Tuesday, June 9th, comes more than a year after British lawyer Karim Khan stepped down from all duties in order to fight the case against him, which was brought by a third party
Khan’s legal team describes the decision as “unlawful, procedurally unfair and unsupported by evidence.” The ICC’s oversight bureau emphasised that the suspension should not be seen as evidence of wrongdoing. If the case itself does reach some form of conclusion, Khan could be asked to step down from his role permanently. Ultimately the 125 ICC member states could be asked to make a decision.
Previously the Court’s Independent Oversight Mechanism closed its investigation after the alleged victim said to have ‘faced unwanted sexual touching,’ declined to participate. Khan prompted U.S. sanctions against himself when he was reported to have linked his survival in the top job at the overreaching body to a successful prosecution of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others for “war crimes against Palestine” (i.e. military actions in the Gaza strip).
