Top prosecutor for International Criminal Court ousted following sexual misconduct investigation
Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, talks while waiting for former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to appear via video link before the International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands, on March 14, 2025. (Photo by Peter Dejong/The Associated Press)
The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court was ousted Friday as head of the court, following an independent investigation of sexual misconduct allegations and members voting for his removal during a closed-door special session at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.
A female aide—who still works at the ICC and has been identified in media reports as Sarah—accused Karim Khan of trying to coerce her into a sexual relationship, resulting in a “power disparity.” Khan denies the allegations.
Khan’s removal could affect the ICC’s investigation of Israel’s war on Gaza and follows his 2024 request for the court to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and a senior Hamas official.
Khan was not allowed to attend the meeting with representatives who voted to remove him; he’s barred by the Trump administration from entering the United States, which is not a state party to the ICC, according to coverage by Courthouse News Service.
“The assembly adopted a decision, by secret ballot, by an absolute majority of 82 states parties, finding that Mr. Karim Khan committed serious misconduct and serious breach of duty and removed him from office under article 46 of the Rome Statute,” according to a statement released by the assembly.
Khan’s defenders have attributed the sexual misconduct accusations to a smear strategy backed by Israeli intelligence. Tayab Ali, a partner at Bindmans and the head of Khan’s legal team, commented on the investigation’s outcome.
“Mr. Khan’s removal was determined by a process in which he was never given a fair opportunity to be heard and in defiance of the conclusions of the independent judges who examined the full evidential record,” Ali said.
See also:
Top prosecutor for International Criminal Court accused of sexual misconduct
ICC war crimes prosecutor takes leave amid sexual misconduct inquiry
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