ICC to investigate case against its chief prosecutor accused of harassment - media
Kyiv • UNN
The ICC's governing body will launch an external investigation into Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan over allegations of sexual harassment. Khan is called upon to temporarily step down from his post during the investigation.
The governing body of the International Criminal Court will launch an external investigation into its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan. He is accused of alleged sexual harassment. This is reported by Reuters with reference to sources, UNN reports.
In an internal document circulated to member states, Khan is urged to temporarily step down from his role at the permanent war crimes court based in The Hague while the investigation continues
The undated and unsigned document, which Reuters has seen, was distributed to member states by ICC staff.
Khan denied the allegations of misconduct, which were reported to the court's governing body last month. The ICC chief prosecutor then asked the court's own internal control body to investigate them.
Reuters notes, citing sources, that the external investigation was agreed upon at a meeting of the core group of the court's governing body, the Assembly of States Parties, held on November 7.
Reuters could not determine who would conduct the investigation.
The ICC judges are currently considering Khan's request filed in May for an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his defense minister and Hamas leaders. Khan said the allegations of misconduct coincided with a disinformation campaign against his office.
"An internal document circulated for discussion argued that the court's independent internal conduct review body should have launched a formal investigation into the allegations when they were first reported," the report said.
According to the source, the alleged victim in the Khan case is not confident in the independence of the court's internal body, whose new head is a former member of Khan's staff, as details of reports on alleged misconduct have been leaked.
The document also shows that pressure is mounting on Khan to temporarily resign and allow one of the deputy prosecutors to perform his duties while the investigation continues.
"The prosecutor must resign immediately to pave the way for an independent investigation," the document says.
It is unclear whether the court's governing body asked Khan to do so.
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The ICC is a permanent court that can prosecute individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and crimes of aggression in member states or their nationals.
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