The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is under increasing pressure from reports further indicating the seriousness of allegations of sexual misconduct levelled against him by a junior colleague.
Karim Khan, who has been the ICC’s lead prosecutor since 2021, is accused of forcing himself on the female assistant in a New York hotel room in December 2023, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
The incident is being investigated as part of an alleged pattern of inappropriate touching, harassment and forced intercourse perpetrated by Khan against his accuser.
The assistant, a lawyer from Malaysia in her 30s, alleged Khan further forced her into sexual intercourse against her will while on missions in New York, Colombia, Congo, Chad and Paris, as well as his residence at the Hague, according to her testimony reviewed by the US-based outlet.
Khan’s lawyers have said all allegations he committed sexual violence or misconduct are “categorically untrue”.
The accusations have been subject to an external investigation since the end of last year. A previous internal investigation closed within five days without taking any action.
A matter of timing?
One of the issues swirling around the case is the question of the timing of Khan’s arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant — a move that saw him personally sanctioned by the Trump administration.
The controversial warrant was issued just a fortnight after the allegations against Khan were formally levelled.
Critics of the court’s investigations of Israel have raised the question of whether Khan took the unprecedented action in an effort to improve his image in the face of an impending scandal — especially after several months of criticism over the ICC’s perceived inaction while Israel ramped up its war on Hamas in Gaza.
Israel has now demanded that the court withdraw the warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant and cancel its probe into alleged Israeli crimes in Gaza and the West Bank.
Khan’s lawyers have denied the allegations that the warrant and the sexual misconduct accusations were linked in any way. Khan has stated that, in turn, the case against him was part of a broader attempt to discredit the ICC.
UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services report on Khan’s alleged misconduct is expected in the coming months, according to reports.
