Member states of the International Criminal Court (ICC) voted Friday to remove Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan from office, marking the first dismissal of a chief prosecutor in the court’s history. Diplomats confirmed the decision to the Associated Press, noting the vote passed by a large majority among the court’s 125 member states.
The removal follows an independent oversight investigation that concluded Khan had committed “serious misconduct” involving a sexual relationship with a subordinate and alleged attempts to dissuade her from filing a complaint. Khan has repeatedly denied the allegations and strongly rejected the report’s findings. He was temporarily suspended in June pending the review.
The development arrives amid escalating pressure on the court from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. Washington has already imposed sanctions on Khan and more than a dozen other ICC staff members in retaliation for the court’s arrest warrants targeting senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over the war in Gaza, as well as investigations into U.S. personnel in Afghanistan.
Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a “comprehensive campaign to crush the threat that the International Criminal Court poses to US sovereignty.” The strategy includes pressuring member states to withdraw from the Rome Statute, sanctioning organizations that cooperate with the court, denying entry to ICC employees, and urging allies benefiting from U.S. security guarantees to reject the court’s jurisdiction over American citizens.
Legal experts note that Khan’s removal does not automatically affect the validity of existing arrest warrants. Decisions regarding the warrants remain the sole purview of ICC judges.