ICC Khan Prosecutor Orders Arrest Of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu In The Middle Of Sexual Case Investigation

ICC/Wikimedia Commons

JAKARTA - The Attorney for the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, was reported to have temporarily resigned because an investigation by the United Nations on alleged sexual offenses was imminent.

This step is unprecedented and there is no clear procedure to replace Khan.

This situation creates additional uncertainty for the ICC, which is already facing an existential crisis due to US sanctions over its arrest warrant for Israeli officials.

Khan's office said prosecutors had taken leave until the end of the investigation by the UN Internal Supervision Service Office.

Two deputy prosecutors of the ICC will take over their duties in the meantime, he added.

Khan's lawyer did not immediately respond to a written request for comment.

Prosecutors denied allegations of violations reported to the court's board in October last year.

When the allegations against Khan surfaced, several NGOs and ICC staff members asked the prosecutor to resign temporarily during the investigation, but he initially persisted.

Sources, speaking on condition of anonymity to address sensitive issues, told Reuters Khan had spoken to UN investigators last week in what was believed to be the latest interrogation of months of external investigations on charges that began in December 2024.

It is not clear when the investigation will be completed.

The ICC is conducting an investigation into a high-level war crime against the Israeli-Hamas conflict and Russia's war in Ukraine.

At Khan's request, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin on suspicion of deporting children from Ukraine and to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on suspicion of war crimes in Gaza. No country is a member of the court and both deny the allegations and reject the ICC jurisdiction.

The ICC's investigation into Israel's behavior led to the administration of US President Donald Trump imposing sanctions on Khan, who the president said the ICC had jeopardized the court itself.