Karim Khan removed as ICC prosecutor after member-state vote
ICC member states voted to dismiss Karim Khan after sexual misconduct allegations he denies, diplomatic sources told news agencies.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
2 min read
Karim Khan was removed as prosecutor of the International Criminal Court after a vote by member states, according to diplomatic sources cited by multiple news agencies late Friday. The decision matters because Khan led high-profile ICC action involving Israeli officials over the war in Gaza and investigations related to United States personnel in Afghanistan.
A majority of the ICC’s 125 member states voted to dismiss Khan, the reports said. The vote came nearly two years after sexual misconduct allegations against him first surfaced.
Khan has denied wrongdoing. His team has argued that the case is political retaliation for his pursuit of an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the reports.
Why was Karim Khan removed?
Diplomatic sources told news agencies that member states voted to remove Khan after sexual misconduct allegations that had been pending for nearly two years. Khan’s lawyers have called the process unlawful, unfair in its procedures and not backed by evidence.
The reports did not give a detailed public breakdown of the vote or identify the states that supported his dismissal. They said only that a majority of the court’s member states backed the move.
What role did Khan have at the ICC?
As ICC prosecutor, Khan oversaw cases and investigations before the court. According to the reports, his office was responsible for the issuance of warrants for senior Israeli officials over the Gaza war and for investigations into United States personnel in Afghanistan.
Those actions placed the court under growing political pressure. The Trump administration has already sanctioned Khan and about a dozen other ICC staff members, according to the reports, and has recently said it would seek to destroy the court.
Khan’s team links the dismissal effort to that wider pressure on the ICC. They say the case against him was politicised because of his work connected to Israel’s leadership.
The vote marks a major rupture for the court at a time when its work has drawn direct retaliation from Washington and sharp criticism from Israeli officials. The reports said Khan’s side continues to reject the allegations and the procedure that led to his removal.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.