US Expands Sanctions on ICC Judges and Prosecutors

Further judges and prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) are subject to American sanctions. The move is hailed in Israel – and condemned in France.

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US Expands Sanctions on ICC Judges and Prosecutors
Photo: Omar Havana/AP/TT

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This concerns two judges, from France and Canada, respectively, and two prosecutors, from Fiji and Senegal.

"The court is a national security threat," says US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a statement.

He further claims that the ICC is used as an "instrument for legal warfare against the US and our close ally Israel".

French judge Nicolas Guillou is responsible for the case in which an arrest warrant has been issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The two prosecutors are said to have "supported" the ICC's actions against Israel.

Canadian judge Kimberly Prost has, in turn, been involved in a case where American soldiers have been investigated for crimes during the war in Afghanistan.

In June, four of the ICC's other judges were imposed with American sanctions and in February, Donald Trump's government imposed sanctions on chief prosecutor Karim Khan after allegations of "illegitimate and baseless attacks" on Israel.

The sanctions mean that the individuals are prohibited from traveling to the US and may have any assets in the country frozen.

"This is a decisive blow to the smear campaign of lies against the state of Israel and the Israeli army," says Benjamin Netanyahu in a written statement.

France's foreign ministry expresses dismay over the US decision. The sanctions, says a spokesperson, "are in conflict with the principle of an independent judiciary".

The ICC, in turn, calls them a "flagrant attack on the independence of an impartial judicial institution".

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By TTEnglish edition by Sweden Herald, adapted for local and international readers

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