ICC war crimes prosecutor takes leave amid sexual misconduct inquiry

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, who was pursuing war-crimes cases against the leaders of Israel and Russia, has abruptly stepped aside while under investigation himself amid allegations of sexual misconduct.

Karim Khan, a British attorney posted at The Hague since 2021, informed the court Friday that he would take leave from his duties until the inquiry into his personal behavior concludes, according to Fadi El Abdallah, spokesperson for the global court.

The serious nature of the allegations against Khan, and the long-delayed decision that he should go on leave during the investigation, marks another blow for the ICC, which is the only permanent international court that can prosecute individuals accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Khan’s decision last year to seek an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in Gaza further ramped up political pressure on the court, prompting court member Hungary to defy the warrant and seek to leave the ICC, while the United States swiftly imposed sanctions on the chief prosecutor soon after President Donald Trump returned to office.

The court made no public comment about the allegations against Khan when they surfaced last year. Since then, some information about the case has appeared in media reports, leading some ICC officials close to the Khan investigation to suspect they have been targeted by state-sponsored hacking.

Attempts to contact Khan through his office were not immediately successful.

Khan’s decision to step aside follows a complaint of repeated unwanted sexual contact by a woman who worked for him at the ICC prosecutor’s office. Khan has denied the allegations.

Documents reviewed by the Washington Post indicate that the allegations incidents spanning roughly a year that occurred both in The Hague, at the prosecutor’s office and the home Khan shared with his wife, and on work trips to the United States and other countries.

Khan also is accused of pressuring the alleged victim not to pursue a complaint against him and retaliating professionally against ICC staff members who aided the alleged victim.

Recent reports published by the Wall Street Journal and Drop Site News were the first to detail the claims against him.

In an email to staff reviewed by the Post, Khan said that “escalating media reports” had led him to make the decision.

“My decision is driven by deep and unwavering commitment to the credibility of our Office and the Court, and to safeguard the integrity of the process and fairness to all involved,” Khan wrote in the email.

The investigation into the allegations is being conducted by the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services and was opened in November. It is expected to conclude in the coming months.

Khan, who has diplomatic legal immunity due to the nature of his work, was elected in 2021 to serve a nine-year term at the ICC.

Even if Khan’s removal is only temporary, it is a significant blow to the court. Under Khan’s leadership, the prosecutor’s office has pursued a number of politically charged arrest warrants, including for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Netanyahu, whom the ICC have implicated in atrocities committed in Ukraine and Gaza, respectively.

According to El Abdallah, the spokesperson, the ICC’s deputy prosecutors would assume responsibility for Khan’s work during his absence.

Khan’s pursuit of an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and Israel’s former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, as well as the leaders of the Palestinian group Hamas, put considerable international pressure on Khan and his team at The Hague, including from the Trump administration.

In January, soon after his return to office, Trump signed an executive order placing sanctions on the prosecutor, accusing the court of engaging in “illegitimate and baseless actions” by targeting “our close ally Israel.”

Some experts in international law welcomed the decision that Khan would take leave during the investigation, saying it would help to safeguard the court’s credibility while it remains under significant global pressure.

“This was the only responsible decision. No one is above accountability – not even the Prosecutor of the ICC,” Danya Chaikel, representative to the ICC from the nonprofit International Federation for Human Rights, wrote on social media.