The monitoring body of the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced on Monday that it had requested an external investigation into allegations of “alleged misconduct” by Attorney General Karim Khan. “I take note of the statement made today by the President of the Assembly of States Parties,” said the ICC prosecutor, who denies the accusations against him.
Karim Khan made headlines in May when he called on the ICC to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and three senior Hamas officials. . The President of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP), Paivi Kaukoranta, had declared that an external investigation was necessary “in order to ensure a completely independent, impartial and fair process”.
Karim Khan, 54, also said he welcomed the investigation and “the opportunity to engage in this process”. “I will continue all my other functions as prosecutor, in accordance with my mandate, in situations falling under the International Criminal Court,” he announced.
According to several media outlets, the ICC prosecutor general was accused of inappropriate sexual behavior towards a member of his staff, accusations he declared unfounded. “It is with deep sadness that I understood that reports of misconduct were going to be publicly released about me,” Karim Khan said in a statement last month.
The ICC has not yet decided whether to grant the warrants he requested against two senior Israeli politicians and Hamas leaders. Karim Khan also requested, and obtained, an arrest warrant from the ICC against Russian President Vladimir Putin, who responded by issuing arrest warrants against the prosecutor himself.
The British prosecutor fiercely defended the independence of his office at the ICC, warning his critics not to threaten him or risk finding themselves in a delicate legal situation. In his statement refuting the allegations, Karim Khan explained that many attacks and threats were aimed at him and the ICC.
The ICC, headquartered in The Hague, investigates and prosecutes genocides, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression.
