ICC votes to dismiss Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan
Members of the International Criminal Court have reportedly voted to remove Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan from his office amid allegations of sexual misconduct. Khan has
Members of the International Criminal Court have reportedly voted to remove Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan from his office amid allegations of sexual misconduct. Khan has denied the allegations. International Criminal Court (ICC) members voted on Friday to dismiss Karim Khan as prosecutor following allegations of sexual misconduct. The ICC's oversight body, the Assembly of States Parties (ASP), found that Khan had committed "serious misconduct and serious breach of duty," ASP President Paivi Kaukoranta said. What do we know so far? A British barrister, Khan was accused of sexual misconduct with a female aide, allegations which he has repeatedly denied. He had been temporarily removed from his duties at the ICC in June, following a report by the executive committee of the court's oversight body that found he had committed "serious misconduct." In all, 82 of the court's 125 member states voted in favor of Khan's removal while 13 voted against and 15 countries abstained. Khan, 56, made headlines in 2024 when he successfully applied for arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over the Gaza war, as well as leading members of the Hamas militant group who have since been killed.
Hamas carried out the October 7, 2023 terror attacks on Israel. All active ICC warrants will remain in place despite Khan's dismissal, because only ICC judges have the authority to withdraw warrants. What were the reactions to Khan's dismissal? Khan's lawyer, Tayab Ali, said Khan will file a legal challenge to the dismissal. Khan will challenge the lawfulnewss and fairness of the decision though all available legal mechanisms," Ali wrote in a post on X. Kenneth Roth, the former executive director of Human Rights Watch and now a visiting professor at Princeton University, wrote on X that the ICC states did "the right thing" by removing Khan. Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, criticized Khan's actions in a statement posted on X after the dismissal. "Khan thought his political witch hunt against Israel and outrageous arrest warrants would distract from serious sexual misconduct allegations," Danon said. "He was wrong." ICC prosecutor suspended: can the court still serve justice? To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Khan suspension comes as Trump admin wants to 'dismantle' ICC The move to dismiss Khan also comes at a time when the US President Donald Trump's administration is seeking to destroy the ICC.
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