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Trump ICC Sanctions Halt Work 05/15 06:20
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- The International Criminal Court 's chief
prosecutor has lost access to his email, and his bank accounts have been frozen.
The Hague-based court's American staffers have been told that if they travel
to the U.S. they risk arrest.
Some nongovernmental organizations have stopped working with the ICC and the
leaders of one won't even reply to emails from court officials.
Those are just some of the hurdles facing court staff since U.S. President
Donald Trump in February slapped sanctions on its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan,
according to interviews with current and former ICC officials, international
lawyers and human rights advocates.
The sanctions will "prevent victims from getting access to justice," said
Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch.
Trump sanctioned the court after a panel of ICC judges in November issued
arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former
defense minister, Yoav Gallant.
Judges found there was reason to believe that the pair may have committed
war crimes by restricting humanitarian aid and intentionally targeting
civilians in Israel's campaign against Hamas in Gaza -- charges Israeli
officials deny.
Staffers and allies of the ICC said the sanctions have made it increasingly
difficult for the tribunal to conduct basic tasks, let alone seek justice for
victims of war crimes or genocide.
A spokesperson for the ICC and for Khan declined to comment. In February,
ICC President Judge Tomoko Akane said that the sanctions "constitute serious
attacks against the Court's States Parties, the rule of law based international
order and millions of victims."
Order targets chief prosecutor
The February order bans Khan and other non-Americans among the ICC's 900
staff members from entering the U.S., which is not a member of the court. It
also threatens any person, institution or company with fines and prison time if
they provide Khan with "financial, material, or technological support."
The sanctions are hampering work on a broad array of investigations, not
just the one into Israel's leaders.
The ICC had been investigating atrocities in Sudan and had issued arrest
warrants for former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on charges that include
genocide. That probe has ground to a halt even as reports mount of new
atrocities in Sudan, according to an attorney representing ICC prosecutor Eric
Iverson, who is fighting the sanctions in U.S. courts. Iverson filed a federal
lawsuit against the Trump administration seeking protection from the sanctions.
Iverson "cannot do, what I would describe as, basic lawyer functions," said
Allison Miller, who is representing Iverson in the suit.
American staffers at the organization, like Iverson, have been warned by its
attorneys that they risk arrest if they return home to visit family, according
to ICC officials. Six senior officials have left the court over concerns about
sanctions.
One reason the the court has been hamstrung is that it relies heavily on
contractors and non-governmental organizations. Those businesses and groups
have curtailed work on behalf of the court because they were concerned about
being targeted by U.S. authorities, according to current and former ICC
staffers.
Microsoft, for example, cancelled Khan's email address, forcing the
prosecutor to move to Proton Mail, a Swiss email provider, ICC staffers said.
His bank accounts in his home countryof the U.K. have been blocked.
Microsoft did not respond to a request for comment.
Staffers at an NGO that plays an integral role in the court's efforts to
gather evidence and find witnesses said the group has transferred money out of
U.S. bank accounts because they fear it might be seized by the Trump
administration.
Senior leadership at two other U.S.-based human rights organizations told
the AP that their groups have stopped working with the ICC. A senior staffer at
one told the AP that employees have stopped replying to emails from court
officials out of fear of triggering a response from the Trump administration.
The cumulative effect of such actions has led ICC staffers to openly wonder
whether the organization can survive the Trump administration, according to ICC
officials who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal.
One questioned whether the court would make it through the next four years.
Trump alleged ICC's actions were baseless
Trump, a staunch supporter of Netanyahu, issued his sanctions order shortly
after re-taking office, accusing the ICC of "illegitimate and baseless actions
targeting America and our close ally Israel." Washington says the court has no
jurisdiction over Israel.
Trump's order said the ICC's "actions against Israel and the United States
set a dangerous precedent, directly endangering current and former United
States personnel, including active service members of the Armed Forces." He
said the court's "malign conduct" threatens "the sovereignty of the United
States and undermines the critical national security and foreign policy work of
the United States Government."
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Netanyahu has dismissed the ICC's allegations as "absurd," and Israel's
Knesset is considering legislation that would make providing evidence to the
court a crime.
Israel launched its offensive after Hamas-led militants stormed into
southern Israel in October 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians,
and abducting scores of others. Hamas is believed to be holding about two dozen
hostages.
Coping with dark humor
Inside the court, staffers have been coping with dark humor, joking about
how they cannot even loan Khan a pen or risk appearing on the U.S. radar.
This is not the first time the ICC has drawn Trump's ire. In 2020, the
former Trump administration sanctioned Khan's predecessor, Fatou Bensouda, and
one of her deputies over the court's investigation into alleged crimes
committed in Afghanistan while the U.S. military was operating in the country.
President Joe Biden rescinded the sanctions when he took office several
months later.
Three lawsuits are now pending from U.S. court staff and consultants against
the Trump administration arguing that the sanctions infringe on their freedom
of expression. Earlier this week Iverson, the lawyer investigating genocide in
Sudan, won temporary protection from prosecution. But if other U.S. citizens at
the court want a similar assurance, they would have to bring their own
complaint.
Meanwhile, the court is facing a lack of cooperation from countries normally
considered to be its staunchest supporters.
The ICC has no enforcement apparatus of its own and relies on member states.
In the last year, three countries -- including two in the European Union --
have refused to execute warrants issued by the court.
Also in recent months, judges have banned Khan from publicizing his requests
for warrants in several investigations. The first such ban, imposed in February
and obtained by AP, targeted warrants in the court's investigation into war
crimes in Afghanistan. Subsequent orders, also seen by AP, include a ban on the
publication of warrant requests in the investigation into crimes in the
Palestinian territories.
The court was already facing internal challenges. Last year, just weeks
before Khan announced he was requesting arrest warrants for the Israeli
officials, two court staff reported the British barrister had harassed a female
aide, according to reporting by the AP.
Khan has categorically denied the accusations that he groped and tried to
coerce a female aide into a sexual relationship. A United Nations investigation
is underway, and Khan has since been accused of retaliating against staff who
supported the woman, including demoting several people he felt were critical of
him.
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