The worldwide felony court docket’s prosecutor, Karim Khan, has been accused of misconduct in direction of a member of his workplace, the court docket’s governing physique has mentioned.
The unspecified allegation, which Khan mentioned there’s “no fact to”, comes as a panel of judges on the ICC considers functions for arrest warrants he filed in opposition to the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and defence minister, Yoav Gallant, for alleged battle crimes and crimes in opposition to humanity in Gaza.
Khan has confronted intense criticism from supporters of Israel over the functions. Concurrently they had been made, he additionally requested arrest warrants for senior Hamas figures together with its then chief, Yahya Sinwar, however they’re all since believed to have been killed by Israel.
The president of the ICC’s meeting of state events, its administration oversight and legislative physique, mentioned on Thursday: “I’m conscious of current public studies relating to alleged misconduct by the ICC prosecutor in direction of a member of his workplace. I can affirm that the impartial oversight mechanism (IOM) was seized of this matter on the idea of a third-party report.”
In response to the president’s assertion, Khan mentioned: “There isn’t any fact to ideas of such misconduct. I’ve labored in various contexts for 30 years and there has by no means been such a criticism lodged in opposition to me by anybody.”
He mentioned he can be prepared to supply any info wanted to the IOM, including: “I stand with any sufferer of harassment or abuse and would encourage all survivors to boost their voice and are available ahead with such accounts wherever they might happen.”
In his assertion, Khan additionally made obvious reference to the assaults he has confronted over the arrest warrants hunted for Israeli leaders, in addition to a Guardian investigation, revealed in Could, which revealed how Israeli intelligence tried over a nine-year interval to undermine, affect and allegedly intimidate the ICC chief prosecutor’s workplace.
Khan, a British lawyer who has served because the ICC’s prosecutor since 2021, mentioned: “This can be a second by which myself and the worldwide felony court docket are topic to a variety of assaults and threats. It has by no means been extra vital that the ICC, together with myself as prosecutor, is ready to concentrate on its job to ship justice for the victims of worldwide crimes, and display by way of our actions that every one lives deserve the safety of worldwide legislation.”
Final month, Israel submitted an “official problem” to the request for arrest warrants in opposition to Netanyahu and Gallant, questioning their legality and the ICC’s jurisdiction.
In August, Khan’s workplace urged the court docket to take motion on the warrants “with utmost urgency”, saying that it was “settled legislation that the court docket has jurisdiction on this scenario”.
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