Karim Khan Removed ICC Chief Prosecutor Post After Historic Vote

ICC – (Special Correspondent/Web Desk) – Karim Khan removed ICC prosecutor duties on Friday after member states voted him out of office, two diplomatic sources told Reuters. The decision came after months of allegations tied to sexual misconduct.

Out of the court’s 125 member nations, 82 backed his removal. That number cleared the 63-vote threshold needed under ICC rules.

This marks the first time in the court’s 24-year history that a sitting chief prosecutor has been pushed out this way. The vote took place behind closed doors at UN headquarters in New York.

Khan, 56, has rejected every claim made against him. His legal team argues the whole process was rushed, unfair, and lacked solid proof.

His lawyer, Sareta Ashraph, said Khan denies any form of sexual contact with the woman, whether consensual or not. Another lawyer, Tayab Ali, confirmed Khan plans to challenge the ruling.

Background on the Allegations

The case traces back more than two years. A junior staff member who worked closely with Khan accused him of escalating inappropriate touching. She recently broke her silence in a televised interview, repeating her claims publicly for the first time.

Diplomats leading the court’s oversight body had already concluded last month that Khan engaged in an inappropriate relationship with the employee. That finding pushed the matter toward Friday’s formal vote.

The Assembly’s president, Päivi Kaukoranta, announced that Khan had committed serious misconduct and a serious breach of duty. Court records reportedly show Khan tried to discourage the woman from pursuing her complaint, something he strongly disputes.

Interestingly, a separate panel of independent judges had earlier found no proof strong enough to support the allegations beyond reasonable doubt. Khan’s supporters point to this as evidence the process was politically driven rather than fact-based.

US Pressure on the Court

Khan’s exit lands right after Washington ramped up its campaign against the ICC. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently said there were “lunatics and crazies” running the court, insisting no American official would ever face trial there.

The United States isn’t an ICC member. Still, it has placed sanctions on 11 of the court’s judges and prosecutors, Khan included. Washington points to ICC arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, plus an old investigation into US soldiers in Afghanistan, as reasons for its anger.

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, welcomed the outcome. He claimed Khan tried to distract from his own misconduct by pursuing warrants against Israeli leaders.

Critics on the other side see it differently. More than 180 Palestinian civil society groups have raised concerns that the whole disciplinary process was politicized from the start.

Khan’s removal takes effect right away. It also kicks off the search for his replacement, though a new prosecutor isn’t expected to be chosen until sometime next year.

Even with Khan gone, nothing changes for existing ICC arrest warrants. Only the court’s judges hold the power to cancel or withdraw them, not the prosecutor’s office.

Khan has said he may take his case to the International Labour Organization’s administrative tribunal, the body that handles staff appeals within the UN system.

For now, the ICC faces a leadership gap at a moment when it’s already under heavy political fire from Washington and caught in the middle of one of its most divisive cases yet.