The Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, will temporarily step down pending the completion of the investigation into the sexual harassment allegations. The court announced this on Friday, reports UNN.
Details
Karim Khan has categorically denied allegations that he has been trying to force his assistant into a sexual relationship and "touched her against her will" for more than a year.
The court said in a statement that Khan on Friday "announced his decision to take leave until the completion" of an external investigation by the Office of Internal Oversight (the UN's internal oversight body).
While Khan is on leave, the court's deputy prosecutors will be responsible for managing the work of the prosecution, the statement said.
Addition
Karim Khan, who has been the ICC's chief prosecutor since 2021, is accused of forcing a female aide, a 30-year-old Malaysian lawyer, into sex in a New York hotel room in December 2023.
The incident is being investigated as part of a systemic pattern of unlawful sexual coercion, harassment and forced sexual acts committed by Khan against his accuser.
The former prosecutor's assistant claims that Khan also forced her to have sex against her will during missions in New York, Colombia, Congo, Chad and Paris, as well as at his residence in The Hague. This is according to her testimony, which is cited by the American publication.
Khan's lawyers have said that all allegations of sexual assault or misconduct by him are "categorically false."
Recall
Sanctions imposed by US President Donald Trump against International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan paralyzed the work of the institution, making it impossible to fulfill the tribunal's main tasks.