ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan suspended during sexual misconduct inquiry
It is understood at least 11 of the 21 members of the ICC's oversight committee will have voted for the suspension, which is not intended to prejudge the board's final findings
The Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has been suspended with immediate effect in the midst of a disciplinary process launched in the wake of sexual abuse allegations against him.
The decision of the ICC’s management oversight committee to suspend Karim Khan, who has denied all the allegations, was announced publicly earlier today. The matter has also been referred by the committee to the 125 member states who are part of the ICC.
The accusations against Khan, which surfaced in 2024, came at a time when the chief prosecutor was building a case for prosecution against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence Minister Yoav Gallant, leading conspiracy theorists to claim, without any evidence, that the accusations against Khan were orchestrated by Israel. Following Khan’s request for the issuing of arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant, the United States sanctioned Khan, later extending the sanctions to include a number of ICC judges.
For Khan to have been suspended in such a fashion, at least 11 of the 21 members of the oversight board will have needed to have voted for such action. However, the oversight bureau has made it clear that Khan’s suspension is not intended to lead people, or states, to presuppose the outcome of the case, and the committee’s final findings. It is understood that a special session of member states is to be arranged shortly, at which point members will vote on whether to accept the final findings, which, if necessary, could be followed by a vote on whether to or not to remove Khan from office.
Khan had already taken a voluntary leave of absence from the role since May 2025, pending the outcome of the investigation into his conduct.
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