Archiv: Karim A. A. Khan (ICC chief prosecutor / suspended over allegations / 24-07-2026 shamefully removed from office by ICC member states after Israel-US campaign


27.07.2026 - 19:04 [ Middle East Eye ]

Karim Khan dared to hold Israel to account – and that‘s why he was brought down

This included a media campaign in the Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, The Guardian and latterly CNN; private warnings by David Cameron, then foreign secretary, who told him Britain would defund the ICC and withdraw from the Rome Statute if the warrants were issued; Republican senators who told him: „Target Israel and we will target you“, and being named publicly as a suspect before he had even had the chance to defend himself by the president of the Assembly of State Parties (ASP), Finland‘s Paivi Kaukoranta.

Danon threatened Mamdani with the same fate as Khan. „@NYCMayor Zohran Mamdani, take note: using Israel as a political weapon will not shield you from accountability,“ Danon posted.

25.07.2026 - 15:05 [ oe24.at ]

Weltstrafgericht: Staaten beschließen Aus fĂŒr ChefanklĂ€ger Khan

Doch Richter des Gerichtshofes stellten nach Darstellung von Khans Verteidiger fest, dass „kein Fehlverhalten oder eine Pflichtverletzung“ nachgewiesen worden sei.

Vor dem Hintergrund dieser AffĂ€re hatte die US-Regierung kĂŒrzlich ihre Attacken gegen das Gericht noch verstĂ€rkt. Die USA verhĂ€ngten bereits Sanktionen gegen Richter und Mitarbeiter. Die USA und Israel gehören dem Gericht nicht an.

25.07.2026 - 14:41 [ Middle East Eye ]

Former UN oversight chief says ICC prosecutor Karim Khan is ‘victim of massive stitch-up’

(July 20, 2026)

Over the past year, he has submitted four expert‘s opinions commissioned by Khan‘s legal team to the 21-member bureau of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP), criticising the manner in which the investigation into misconduct allegations facing the prosecutor was conducted, and the subsequent handling of the process by the bureau.

In his latest submission on 28 June, obtained by Middle East Eye through independent sources, Swanson denounced the 8 June decision by the bureau, which suspended the prosecutor after concluding by a majority that he committed “serious misconduct”.

The bureau’s decision departed from the unanimous conclusion of a panel of three judges it appointed, which in March concluded that the facts presented in the UN investigation „do not establish misconduct or breach of duty under the relevant framework“.

25.07.2026 - 14:01 [ United Nations ]

International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan dismissed

“The Assembly has decided by a majority of 82 States Parties that
prosecutor Karim Kahn committed serious conduct and a serious breach of duty
and to remove [him] from office,” the Assembly president announced, calling for the dignity and privacy of all those involved.

25.07.2026 - 13:56 [ CNN ]

ICC member states vote to dismiss chief prosecutor Khan

Assembly of States President PĂ€ivi Kaukoranta said 82 of ⁠the court’s 125 member states voted in ⁠favor of the prosecutor’s ⁠removal, concluding that Khan “committed serious misconduct and a serious breach of duty.”

24.07.2026 - 14:51 [ Anadolu ]

ICC member states to vote on possible removal of prosecutor Karim Khan

The vote will take place during a special session of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP), the ICC‘s governing body, at UN headquarters in New York.

The 125 member states will decide by secret ballot, with an absolute majority of at least 63 votes required to remove Khan from office.

In May 2024, Khan’s office requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas leaders over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to the Gaza war.

The ICC later issued warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant and Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif. The move drew fierce condemnation from Israel and the US, culminating in US sanctions targeting several ICC officials, including Khan.

24.07.2026 - 14:42 [ Middle East Eye ]

Khan faces historic removal vote as critics warn ICC process has been politicised

Member states of the International Criminal Court (ICC) are set to gather at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Friday for a controversial vote which could see the court‘s chief prosecutor Karim Khan dismissed from his job over alleged misconduct claims.

It will be the first time in the ICC‘s 24-year history that member states have been asked to decide whether to remove a sitting chief prosecutor from office.

The Assembly of States Parties (ASP), the court’s governing body that is made up of its 125 members, will vote by secret ballot requiring an absolute majority of 63 states to remove the prosecutor.

Khan’s lawyers said they have been denied accreditation to attend Friday’s session and to mount a defence prior to the vote. They added that the president of the ASP “has closed every formal channel” through which they can address the assembly, and has asked all state parties not to meet with the legal team.

03.07.2026 - 21:44 [ Middle East Eye ]

Exclusive: ICC prosecutors shelved RSF arrest warrant as Sudan atrocities mounted

The International Criminal Court‘s prosecutor’s office has not applied for a single arrest warrant over crimes committed in Sudan‘s Darfur region since the country‘s devastating war began in April 2023, despite more than three years of investigation and repeated public assurances that charges were imminent, Middle East Eye can reveal.

(…)

For more than a year after Khan‘s leave of absence in May 2025, the prosecution did not provide any explanation to the pretrial chamber regarding the late application.

(…)

The deputy prosecutor, who is currently in charge of the Darfur investigation, has yet to provide a timeline for any other arrest warrants, MEE understands.

03.07.2026 - 00:04 [ Middle East Eye ]

Exclusive: ICC bureau changes rules to lower threshold for Khan‘s removal

Previously, the procedure was expected to consist of a two-stage vote in which members would first vote on whether misconduct had occurred and its gravity, with a second vote on removal triggered only if they found „serious misconduct.“

The ASP, which is made up of diplomatic representatives from the international court‘s 125 member states, is due to vote on Khan‘s future at the United Nations‘ headquarters in New York City on 24 July.

It comes after the bureau, a body of diplomats from 21 member states, determined by a two-thirds majority last month that Khan had committed „serious misconduct.“

This was despite a judicial panel, appointed by the bureau to review the findings of a United Nations investigation into complaints against Khan, concluding that the evidence against him was insufficient to establish any level of misconduct.

10.05.2026 - 08:22 [ Middle East Eye ]

Exclusive: ICC prosecutor Karim Khan details ‚dangerous‘ attempt by states to remove him

The 125 member states of the ICC are represented on the ASP, but the ASP bureau is an executive committee made up of 21 members.

MEE has reported that the states on the bureau which voted to disregard the panel of judges were Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Cyprus, Ecuador, Finland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, New Zealand, Poland, Slovenia, South Korea, and Switzerland.

Khan’s future as prosecutor may ultimately be decided by a vote of ICC member states.

29.04.2026 - 20:02 [ Middle East Eye ]

Exclusive: ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan to address Oxford Union next week

The event will mark Khan‘s first public address since he went on extended leave last May pending the outcome of a United Nations investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against him, all of which he has denied.

Last month, MEE reported that a panel of judges appointed by the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP), the ICC’s governing body, to review the UN investigation had concluded it had not established any „misconduct or breach of duty“ by Khan.

But the chief prosecutor has still not returned to his duties. MEE later reported that a group of disproportionately western and European states voted at a bureau meeting to disregard the panel of judges and make their own assessment, based on the UN report.

Khan‘s legal team has called on the ASP bureau to accept the judges‘ findings and has expressed concern that „political considerations“ rather than legal process are shaping its deliberations.

23.03.2026 - 22:01 [ Middle East Eye ]

Exclusive: ‚Handful‘ of ICC states aim to sabotage report clearing Karim Khan

A minority of members from the bureau of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) at the International Criminal Court (ICC) are calling for the findings of a judges‘ report, which found no evidence of misconduct against ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, to be ignored, Middle East Eye can reveal.

MEE reported exclusively on Saturday that the court’s chief prosecutor had been cleared of any wrongdoing by a panel of three senior judges appointed by the bureau of the ASP, the ICC’s governing body, to review the findings of a United Nations investigation into complaints of alleged sexual misconduct.

23.03.2026 - 21:52 [ Middle East Eye ]

Exclusive: Judges clear ICC’s Karim Khan over sexual misconduct claims

(March 21, 2026)

Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, has been cleared of all wrongdoing by a panel of judges appointed to review the findings of a United Nations investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against him, Middle East Eye can exclusively reveal.

The highly confidential report by the panel of three judges was submitted to the ICC’s executive oversight body, the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP), on 9 March. It will not be made publicly available, and has not been seen by the majority of the court‘s 125 member states.

04.08.2025 - 14:25 [ Le Monde ]

Israel-Gaza: The International Criminal Court in turmoil

This has been the darkest year for the International Criminal Court (ICC) since it opened its doors in The Hague in 2002. Never before had the institution faced such strong headwinds. The US imposed sanctions on four judges and the chief prosecutor, the British national Karim Khan, while threats, intrigue, and pressure from Washington mounted on state parties. The objective: to annul and prevent any arrest warrants against Israelis, including those targeting Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant, issued on November 21, 2024, and to close the ongoing investigation into crimes committed on Palestinian territory.

04.08.2025 - 14:22 [ Palestine Chronicle ]

‘Black Year for ICC’ – Le Monde Reveals Unprecedented Pressures on High Court‘

(August 2, 2025)

British lawyer Andrew Cayley, who was tasked with leading the ICC’s file on Palestine (ICC-01/18), said the months he spent working on the case in The Hague were the most difficult of his life.

“I went through the worst months of my life in The Hague,” Cayley told Le Monde.

He described receiving direct threats, including being told he was “an enemy of Israel” and warned to “watch his back.” He resigned in March 2024.

Le Monde also cited a July 17, 2024, intelligence memo from Dutch authorities warning that the ICC had become a “prime target for espionage and subversive influence” by states whose officials were at risk of prosecution.

07.06.2025 - 12:00 [ Middle East Eye ]

The four ICC judges sanctioned by the US for Palestine and Afghanistan work

The ICC has a total of 18 judges who serve in different chambers, including the Pre-Trial, Trial and Appeals chambers.

Judges are nominated by state parties to the Rome Statute, the ICC’s founding treaty, and then elected by the Assembly of States Parties, the court‘s governing body.

Judges must demonstrate high moral character, impartiality and integrity, meeting the qualifications required in their home countries for appointment to the highest judicial offices.

Once elected, ICC judges serve a non-renewable nine-year term.

Below are the profiles of the four judges sanctioned by the Trump administration on 5 June 2025.

06.06.2025 - 22:14 [ New York Times ]

State Dept. Imposes Sanctions on International Criminal Court Judges

The State Department said that Ms. Bossa and Ms. Ibåñez Carranza had ruled to authorize the court’s investigation against U.S. personnel in Afghanistan. While they participated in an appeals decision that opened the way for that investigation, the court’s pursuit of the American role in Afghanistan was eventually dropped. Mr. Khan announced soon after taking office in 2021 that he would not pursue accusations of torture carried out by U.S. military and C.I.A. personnel in Afghanistan and at so-called black sites in other countries. No formal investigations of specific U.S. personnel have taken place, nor have warrants been issued.

30.11.2024 - 02:28 [ MintPressNews.com ]

Six Months of Lies and Pressure: How US and Israeli Interference Stalled Netanyahu’s ICC Arrest Warrant

(November 22, 2024)

More than six months after the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor sought arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and defense minister, a ruling was finally issued Thursday. In the interim, both Israel and the United States took unprecedented steps to obstruct the court’s decision-making process.

21.11.2024 - 20:10 [ International Criminal Court ]

Statement of ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan KC on the issuance of arrest warrants in the Situation in the State of Palestine

Today, our collective mind and focus should be on the victims of international crimes in Israel and in the State of Palestine. In my own meetings with the victims and families of hostages taken from kibbutzim, and with victims from Gaza who have lost so many loved ones, I have underlined that the law is there for all, that its role is to vindicate the rights of all persons.

03.11.2024 - 13:47 [ Anadolu ]

Netanyahu arrest warrant delayed in ICC for 5 months

(October 29, 2024)

Delays in the Palestine investigation trace back to 2015 when former ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda initiated a preliminary examination. Although the investigation met the necessary criteria in 2019, it was postponed due to jurisdiction debates over Palestinian territories. The formal investigation began in March 2021, yet no meaningful progress has been made, further delaying requests against Netanyahu and Gallant.

03.11.2024 - 13:10 [ Guardian ]

Spying, hacking and intimidation: Israel’s nine-year ‘war’ on the ICC exposed

(May 28, 2024)

Thanks to their comprehensive access to Palestinian telecoms infrastructure, the sources said, intelligence operatives could capture the calls without installing spyware on the ICC official’s devices.

“If Fatou Bensouda spoke to any person in the West Bank or Gaza, then that phone call would enter [intercept] systems,” one source said. Another said there was no hesitation internally over spying on the prosecutor, adding: “With Bensouda, she’s black and African, so who cares?”

The surveillance system did not capture calls between ICC officials and anyone outside Palestine. However, multiple sources said the system required the active selection of the overseas phone numbers of ICC officials whose calls Israeli intelligence agencies decided to listen to.

According to one Israeli source, a large whiteboard in an Israeli intelligence department contained the names of about 60 people under surveillance – half of them Palestinians and half from other countries, including UN officials and ICC personnel.

In The Hague, Bensouda and her senior staff were alerted by security advisers and via diplomatic channels that Israel was monitoring their work.

03.11.2024 - 13:03 [ 20min.ch ]

Strafgerichtshof: Bedrohte der Mossad die ChefanklÀgerin und ihre Familie?

(May 28, 2024)

Die Haftbefehle fĂŒr Benjamin Netanyahu und Yoav Gallant, die der internationale Strafgerichtshof (IStGH) letzte Woche ausgeschrieben hatte, beziehen sich zwar auf Verbrechen, die die israelische FĂŒhrung wĂ€hrend des neuen Gaza-Krieges begangen haben soll, die Untersuchungen begannen aber bereits 2015.

Damals eröffnete die damalige ChefanklĂ€gerin des Internationalen Strafgerichtshofs, Fatou Bensouda, die ÜberprĂŒfung von VorwĂŒrfen gegen Einzelpersonen im Gazastreifen, im Westjordanland und in Ostjerusalem.

03.11.2024 - 12:34 [ Guardian ]

Revealed: Israeli spy chief ‘threatened’ ICC prosecutor over war crimes inquiry

(May 28, 2024)

The former head of the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, allegedly threatened a chief prosecutor of the international criminal court in a series of secret meetings in which he tried to pressure her into abandoning a war crimes investigation, the Guardian can reveal.

Yossi Cohen’s covert contacts with the ICC’s then prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, took place in the years leading up to her decision to open a formal investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in occupied Palestinian territories.

That investigation, launched in 2021, culminated last week when Bensouda’s successor, Karim Khan, announced that he was seeking an arrest warrant for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, over the country’s conduct in its war in Gaza.

(…)

After the surprise meeting with Kabila and Bensouda in New York, Cohen repeatedly phoned the chief prosecutor and sought meetings with her, three sources recalled. According to two people familiar with the situation, at one stage Bensouda asked Cohen how he had obtained her phone number, to which he replied: “Did you forget what I do for a living?”

15.10.2024 - 06:25 [ Middle East Eye ]

History will judge the ICC‘s inaction. Judges must act now or step aside

The International Criminal Court (ICC) faces an unprecedented moment in its history, one that could shape its legacy and impact the lives of thousands.

Prosecutor Karim Khan and his team have risen to their mandate, applying for arrest warrants in the face of enormous risk and pressure.

Yet, the ICC as a whole is faltering. The delay in the judges‘ decision-making is a catastrophic failure to uphold the court‘s own mission.

14.10.2024 - 21:08 [ Al Jazeera ]

The ICC’s credibility is hanging by a thread

In May, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan requested the court to issue warrants of arrest for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, along with three Hamas leaders. The ICC is yet to make a decision despite the mounting death toll in and destruction of Gaza amid Israel’s continuing genocidal violence.

(…)

If Bensouda was threatened and blackmailed for merely investigating allegations of war crimes perpetrated before the current genocidal war, one can only fathom the pressures and threats, real or assumed, that Khan faced or feared.

Now that he has done his duty, it is for the three sitting judges of the pre-trial chamber to decide whether to issue the warrants or not. Whether they face the same threats as Bensouda is unknown, but they must be acutely aware that the very credibility of the ICC also hangs in the balance if warrants of arrest for Netanyahu and Gallant are not issued without further delay.

23.09.2024 - 23:45 [ Palestinian News and Information Agency – WAFA.ps ]

President Abbas Meets ICC Prosecutor at UN General Assembly in New York

NEW YORK, September 23, 2024 (WAFA) – President Mahmoud Abbas met on Monday with the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Karim Khan, on the sidelines of his participation in the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, in New York.

21.09.2024 - 11:35 [ AlMayadeen.net ]

Karim Khan urges ICC judges not to delay arrest warrant for Netanyahu

(August 24, 2024)

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, stressed that the court has jurisdiction to investigate Israelis, urging judges to decide on arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Security Minister Yoav Gallant, which he had requested months ago.

10.09.2024 - 18:32 [ Ynetnews.com ]

ICC prosecutor seeks urgent arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant and Hamas leaders

(today)

In filing to court, Karim Khan expresses frustration with court‘s delay in issuing warrants, urging swift action ahead of Netanyahu‘s scheduled speech at UN General Assembly later in September

10.09.2024 - 18:10 [ DrALJONES / Mastodon.social ]

Report: ICC prosecutor Karim Khan reveals pressure on him from US lawmakers & threats from supporters of both Israel & Russia since pursuing charges against their leaders.

(September 5, 2024)

“You cannot allow an attack on the court,” Khan said. “Then you have no rules-based system.”*

https://aje.io/7u2xai?update=3158140

* Which is exactly what Russia Israel & US want; hence the „Hague Invasion Act“

#US #Russia #Israel #ICC ..

10.09.2024 - 18:05 [ AlMayadeen.net ]

Karim Khan urges ICC judges not to delay arrest warrant for Netanyahu

(August 24, 2024)

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, stressed that the court has jurisdiction to investigate Israelis, urging judges to decide on arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Security Minister Yoav Gallant, which he had requested months ago.

05.09.2024 - 22:20 [ International Criminal Court (ICC) ]

Statement of ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan KC: Applications for arrest warrants in the situation in the State of Palestine

(20 May 2024)

On the basis of evidence collected and examined by my Office, I have reasonable grounds to believe that Yahya SINWAR (Head of the Islamic Resistance Movement (“Hamas”) in the Gaza Strip), Mohammed Diab Ibrahim AL-MASRI, more commonly known as DEIF (Commander-in-Chief of the military wing of Hamas, known as the Al-Qassam Brigades), and Ismail HANIYEH (Head of Hamas Political Bureau) bear criminal responsibility for the following war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of Israel and the State of Palestine (in the Gaza strip) from at least 7 October 2023:

(…)

05.09.2024 - 22:12 [ DrALJONES / Mastodon.social ]

Report: ICC prosecutor Karim Khan reveals pressure on him from US lawmakers & threats from supporters of both Israel & Russia since pursuing charges against their leaders.

“You cannot allow an attack on the court,” Khan said. “Then you have no rules-based system.”*

https://aje.io/7u2xai?update=3158140

* Which is exactly what Russia Israel & US want; hence the „Hague Invasion Act“

#US #Russia #Israel #ICC ..

05.09.2024 - 22:00 [ theCradle.co ]

ICC prosecutor says world leaders ‚threatened‘ him over Israel arrest warrants

Though several months have passed since Khan‘s application, ICC judges have not issued any arrest warrants.

Speaking to the BBC, Khan said it was important to show the court would hold all nations to the same standard in relation to alleged war crimes. He also welcomed the new UK government‘s recent decision to drop its opposition to the arrest warrants.

05.09.2024 - 21:49 [ Middle East Eye ]

‘We need to apply the law‘: ICC prosecutor defends Netanyahu arrest warrant

Khan pointed out that the same political leaders who had applauded the court’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin had condemned the same being done for the Israeli leadership.

“We need to apply the law in a way that is equal, because if we don’t, and importantly if we’re not seen to, we’re going to lose all the architecture, not just the ICC, that has been built on human suffering since Nuremberg.”

05.09.2024 - 21:41 [ ORF.at ]

IStGH-ChefanklÀger verteidigt Haftbefehl gegen Netanjahu

Der ChefanklĂ€ger des Internationalen Strafgerichtshofs (IStGH) hat die beantragten Haftbefehle gegen Israels Regierungschef Benjamin Netanjahu und Verteidigungsminister Joav Galant verteidigt. Ihm sei von mehreren fĂŒhrenden Politikern und anderen von dem Schritt abgeraten worden, sagte Karim Khan in einem BBC-Interview. Es sei aber wichtig zu zeigen, dass fĂŒr alle LĂ€nder die gleichen MaßstĂ€be gĂ€lten, wenn es um mutmaßliche Kriegsverbrechen gehe.