ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan removed amid sexual misconduct allegations
By Anna Holligan, The Hague correspondent & Robert Greenall
Published 20 minutes ago
ICC members voted 82‑15 to remove Karim Khan as chief prosecutor following allegations of sexual misconduct.
Khan, elected in 2021, was suspended last month after an Independent Oversight Mechanism (IOM) identified a “serious breach of duty and serious misconduct” for engaging in an improper sexual relationship with a junior staff member and attempting to block her complaint.
He has repeatedly denied the allegations, and his lawyers claim the suspension is “unlawful, procedurally unfair and unsupported by evidence.”
The process has intensified internal divisions within the court and coincided with the United States launching a campaign to weaken, even dismantle, the ICC.
Khan has been on voluntary leave since May 2025 and remains barred from practising law in the UK, pending the Bar Standards Board inquiry.
Unable to attend the New York vote, Khan is in the US under sanctions imposed by the Trump administration over ICC investigations into alleged war crimes in Gaza.
The tribunal faces potential weakening amid ongoing political pressures and the US’s “whole‑of‑government” push to block ICC jurisdiction, threatening the court’s ability to confront serious global crimes.
The case illustrates the dilemma of maintaining institutional integrity while navigating geopolitical tensions that threaten international justice mechanisms.
