ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan Who Ordered The Arrest Of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu Dragged By Sexual Scandal

JAKARTA - The head body of the International Criminal Court (ICC) will conduct an external investigation into the head of prosecutor Karim Khan on suspicion of a sexual offense scandal.

Khan was asked to temporarily resign from his role in the world war crimes court, based in The Hague, during the investigation.

This is contained in undated and unsigned documents seen by Reuters. These documents were circulated to member states by ICC staff.

Khan denied allegations of violations reported to the court leadership agency last month. At that time he asked the internal supervisory agency of the court itself to investigate.

Sources familiar with the matter said an external investigation had been agreed upon at a meeting of the core group of the court leadership agency, the Assembly of Parties, on Thursday.

ICC judges are currently reviewing a request Khan made in May for an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his defense chief and Hamas leaders.

Khan said the allegations of sexual offenses coincided with a campaign of misinformation against his office.

Internal documents circulated for discussion, state an independent internal court agency to assess behavioral issues should conduct a formal investigation into the allegations when the allegations were first reported.

Sources familiar with the matter said the victim's suspect in Khan's case did not believe in the independence of the internal court agency, whose chairman was former staffer Khan, as details of reports of alleged abuses were leaked.

The document also shows increasing pressure on Khan for the time being to resign and let one of the deputy prosecutors take over from office during the investigation.

The prosecutor must immediately resign to pave the way for an independent investigation, the document said. It is unclear whether the court leadership body has asked Khan to do so.

The ICC is a permanent court that can try individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and crimes of aggression in member states or those committed by their citizens. The board will hold its annual meeting early next month.