The International Criminal Court dismisses prosecutor Karim Khan, accused of sexual assault

BarcelonaThe member states of the International Criminal Court (ICC) voted this Friday to dismiss prosecutor Karim Khan after receiving accusations of sexual abuse, according to two diplomatic sources who informed Reuters. The 125 member states of the court decided this in a closed-door meeting, and according to the same sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, 82 of the court's member states voted in favor.

The vote comes after almost two years of investigations into accusations by a former collaborator of Khan's, who reported suffering non-consensual sexual contact between March 2023 and April 2024 during official trips and in facilities linked to the Prosecutor's Office. The diplomats leading the court's supervisory body recommended Khan's dismissal last month and temporarily suspended him while the entire body of countries decided on his conduct.

For his part, Khan denies having committed any crime and his lawyers have described the process that led to the vote as illegal, procedurally unfair, and without evidence.

Be that as it may, Khan's dismissal comes after the United States announced it would launch a new diplomatic campaign to dismantle the ICC, which it considers a threat to its sovereignty. The US, which is not a member, has imposed sanctions on 11 judges and prosecutors of the court, including Khan, citing the body's arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and a previous investigation into American troops in Afghanistan. Khan's dismissal automatically triggers the process of electing a new prosecutor, who will rarely be chosen before 2027.