- 82 of ICC member states backed Khan’s removal: sources.
- Khan’s lawyers call the process that led to the vote “illegal.”
- Any active ICC orders remain in place even if Khan is fired.
Member states of the International Criminal Court (ICC) voted on Friday to remove Karim Khan as prosecutor following allegations of sexual misconduct, two diplomatic sources said. Reuters.
According to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, 82 of the court’s 125 member states voted in favor of the prosecutor’s dismissal.
Khan, 56, denies any wrongdoing and his lawyers have called the process that led to the vote illegal, procedurally unfair and unsupported by evidence.
Khan’s removal follows the United States’ announcement that it will launch a renewed diplomatic campaign to dismantle the ICC, which it claims is a threat to its sovereignty.
Diplomats who run the court’s oversight body decided last month that the British lawyer had an inappropriate relationship with a junior ICC lawyer and should be fired. Member states largely followed that conclusion in a vote at the United Nations in New York on Friday.
Rubio denounces “lunatics” in court
During a visit to the Philippines on Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there were “lunatics and crazy people involved in the ICC” and that there was no way any US political or military official would be tried at the court, reiterating previous criticisms.
The United States, which is not a member, has imposed sanctions on 11 ICC judges and prosecutors, including Khan, citing ICC arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and a past investigation into US troops in Afghanistan.
The electoral process begins
Khan’s accuser spoke publicly for the first time last week in an interview with cnn in which she reiterated her accusations that the prosecutor had a non-consensual sexual relationship with her.
Khan’s lawyers said Reuters he denied “any sexual relationship of any kind” with the staff member.
Khan’s dismissal immediately triggers the process of electing a new ICC prosecutor who is not expected to be elected before next year.
Any active ICC orders will remain in effect even if Khan is removed because only ICC judges have the authority to withdraw orders.
