The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan was set aside temporarily pending the result of an inquiry into claims of sexual misconduct, the court announced on Friday.
Karim Khan has absolutely refuted claims that he tried for over a year to push a female staffer into a sexual connection and grabbed her against her will.
Women’s rights groups hailed the ICC’s announcement, as they had asked for Khan’s resignation following the claims last year.
“In any other professional setting, someone facing such serious allegations would have been expected to step down months ago,” said Eimear Shine, spokesperson for Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice in The Hague.
According to an investigation conducted by The Associated Press last year, two court employees in whom the alleged victim confided reported the alleged misbehavior to the court’s independent monitor in May 2024.
That was several weeks before Khan requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his defense minister, and three Hamas officials on war crimes accusations.
The agency said it questioned the woman and concluded its investigation after five days when she declined to file a formal complaint. Khan himself was not questioned at the time.
While the watchdog was unable to find any misconduct, it advised Khan in a note to limit his contact with the woman in order to protect the interests of all parties concerned and the court’s credibility.
According to an ICC statement released on Friday, Khan “communicated his decision to take leave until the end” of an external investigation conducted by the Office of Internal Oversight Services, the United Nations’ internal watchdog.
The court’s deputy prosecutors will manage the prosecutor’s office while Khan is on leave, according to the statement.
The court’s work will continue, according to Danya Chaikel, ICC delegate from the International Federation for Human Rights. “The cases and investigations have been carried out by professionals,” she informed the crowd.
In February, the administration of US President Donald Trump sought sanctions against Khan in connection with his Israel warrants. The sanctions are impeding progress on a wide range of inquiries at the court.
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