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Member states of the International Criminal Court (ICC) removed chief prosecutor Karim Khan from office on Friday, diplomats told the Associated Press, marking the first dismissal of a chief prosecutor in the court’s history.
The ICC’s 125 member states voted by a large majority to remove Khan from office following allegations of sexual misconduct, which he has repeatedly denied.
The move marks the first-ever removal of an ICC chief prosecutor. Khan had been temporarily suspended in June while the allegations were reviewed after an internal report found he had committed serious misconduct, a finding he strongly rejects.
According to documents seen by the Associated Press, Khan had a sexual relationship with the woman and allegedly tried to discourage her from pursuing her complaint.
An independent oversight report found that he had committed “serious misconduct”, though Khan denies the allegations.
Khan’s removal comes as the ICC faces mounting pressure from US President Donald Trump administration, which has already imposed sanctions on him and a dozen other ICC employees.
The sanctions were imposed in response to the ICC’s arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials, including Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over the war in Gaza, as well as the court’s investigations into US personnel in Afghanistan.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week that the United States was launching a “comprehensive campaign to crush the threat that the International Criminal Court poses to US sovereignty”.
Rubio said the US would pressure member states to withdraw from the institution, sanction organisations that cooperate with the court and deny its employees entry to the United States. Countries that “benefit from the US security umbrella” are to be urged to reject the court’s jurisdiction over US citizens.
Khan’s removal has no immediate impact on the arrest warrants already issued. Decisions on whether they remain in force are made solely by ICC judges.