ICC prosecutor Karim Khan steps aside pending outcome of sexual misconduct investigation

Karim Khan, prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, looks up prior to a press conference in The Hague, Netherlands, July 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

BRUSSELS -- The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has stepped down temporarily pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct, the court announced Friday.

Karim Khan has categorically denied accusations that he tried for more than a year to coerce a female aide into a sexual relationship and groped her against her will.

The ICC’s announcement was welcomed by women’s rights groups, who had called for Khan to step down after the allegations emerged last year.

“In any other professional setting, someone facing such serious allegations would have been expected to step down months ago,” said Eimear Shine, a spokesperson for The Hague-based Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice.

An investigation by The Associated Press last year found that two court employees, in whom the alleged victim confided, reported the alleged misconduct in May 2024 to the court’s independent watchdog. That was a few weeks before Khan sought arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, his defence minister and three Hamas leaders on war crimes charges.

The watchdog said it interviewed the woman and ended its inquiry after five days when she opted against filing a formal complaint. Khan himself wasn’t questioned at the time.

While the watchdog could not determine wrongdoing, it nonetheless urged Khan in a memo to minimize contact with the woman to protect the rights of all involved and safeguard the court’s integrity.

The ICC statement on Friday said Khan “communicated his decision to take leave until the end” of an external investigation being carried by the Office of Internal Oversight Services, the UN internal watchdog.

The court’s deputy prosecutors will be in charge of managing the prosecutor’s office while Khan is on leave, the statement said.

The work of the court will continue, according to Danya Chaikel, the ICC representative from the International Federation for Human Rights. “The cases and investigations have been carried out by professionals,” she told the AP.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration filed sanctions against Khan in February in relation to his Israel warrants. The sanctions are hampering work on a broad array of investigations at the court.

By Molly Quell