ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan put aside, awaiting results of sexual misconduct investigations
BRUSSELS (AP) – The court announced Friday that the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court will temporarily step down until the results of an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct, the court announced Friday.
Karim Khan explicitly denied allegations that he had tried more than a year to coerce the female assistant into a sexual relationship and went against her wishes.
Women's rights groups welcome the move. They called on him to resign after the allegations that appeared last year, but Khan initially refused to leave.
Last year, an Associated Press investigation found that two court employees who allegedly frankly allegedly filed the charge in May. That was when Khan sought an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, whose defense minister and three Hamas leaders arrested the warrant on war crimes charges.
The court said in a statement that Khan communicated his decision on Friday until the end, until an external investigation conducted by the office of the United Nations domestic supervisory agency.
The statement said that when Khan took leave, the deputy prosecutor of the court would be responsible for managing the prosecutor's office.
Two colleagues confided in The International Criminal Court headquarters in The Hague, allegedly reported the alleged misconduct to the court’s independent regulator, which interviewed the woman and chose to question five days later when she chose not to file a formal complaint. Khan himself was not questioned at the time.
Although the court's supervisors were unable to determine misconduct, it urged Khan to minimize contact with the woman in the memorandum to protect the rights of all participants and to uphold the integrity of the court.
Khan is facing increasing pressure in many aspects. U.S. President Donald Trump filed sanctions on his Israeli arrest warrant in February. These sanctions hinder the widespread investigation in court.
