- 82 of ICC member states supported Khan’s removal: sources.
- Khan’s lawyers call the process that led to the vote “illegal”.
- Any active ICC guarantees in place even if Khan is dismissed.
Member states of the International Criminal Court (ICC) voted on Friday to dismiss Karim Khan as prosecutor following allegations of sexual misconduct, two diplomatic sources said. Reuters.
According to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive issue, 82 of the court’s 125 member states voted in favor of the prosecutor’s removal.
Khan, 56, denies any wrongdoing and his lawyers have called the process leading to the vote illegal, procedurally unfair and unsupported by evidence.
Khan’s dismissal follows an announcement by the US that it will launch a renewed diplomatic campaign to dismantle the ICC, which it says is a threat to its sovereignty.
Diplomats who head the court’s oversight body decided last month that the British lawyer had an inappropriate relationship with a junior ICC lawyer and should be fired. The member states largely followed this conclusion in a vote at the United Nations in New York on Friday.
Rubio condemns ‘lunatics’ at court
During a visit to the Philippines on Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there were “lunatics and lunatics involved in the ICC” and that there was no way any US political or military officials would ever be tried, echoing earlier criticism.
The US, which is not a member, has imposed sanctions on 11 ICC judges and prosecutors, including Khan, citing the ICC’s arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and an earlier investigation into US troops in Afghanistan.
Selection process to begin
Khan’s accusers spoke publicly for the first time last week in an interview with CNN where she repeated her claims that the accuser had a non-consensual sexual relationship with her.
Lawyers for Khan said Reuters he denied “any sexual relationship of any kind” with the staff.
Khan’s dismissal immediately triggers the selection process for a new ICC prosecutor, which is not expected to be voted in until next year.
All active ICC rulings remain in place even if Khan is dismissed because only ICC judges have the authority to withdraw rulings.
