{"id":2000115202,"date":"2026-06-09T15:20:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T13:20:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/?p=2000115202"},"modified":"2026-06-09T15:20:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T13:20:31","slug":"icc-chief-prosecutor-karim-khan-suspended-amid-sexual-misconduct-probe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/icc-chief-prosecutor-karim-khan-suspended-amid-sexual-misconduct-probe\/","title":{"rendered":"ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan suspended amid sexual misconduct probe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The court’s governing body, the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties, announced on Monday that Khan’s case will be referred to a special session of the ICC’s 125-member states, which will ultimately decide his future at the world’s top war crimes tribunal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The suspension follows a vote by the bureau’s executive committee after reviewing findings from a United Nations investigation, advice from an ad hoc panel of judicial experts, and written submissions related to the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In its statement, the bureau emphasised that the suspension “is not an indication of the final outcome” of the proceedings. The decision and supporting documentation will remain confidential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Khan, 56, has strongly denied the allegations and rejected the suspension. In a statement issued through his lawyers, he described the decision as “unlawful, procedurally unfair and unsupported by evidence.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The allegations, first reported in 2024, were brought by a female ICC staff member who accused Khan of engaging in coercive and non-consensual sexual conduct between 2023 and 2024. The alleged incidents are said to have occurred during work trips, in Khan’s office in The Hague, and at his residence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to media reports, a UN investigation found a “factual basis” for the allegations. However, a three-judge panel tasked with reviewing the findings reportedly concluded that the evidence was not sufficiently conclusive to establish misconduct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Khan’s legal team has argued that the judges unanimously determined that the investigation’s factual findings did not establish misconduct or a breach of duty. The prosecutor has also maintained that the allegations are part of a politically motivated campaign against him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The case marks an unprecedented moment for the ICC. Khan is the first chief prosecutor to be formally suspended by the court’s oversight body. The referral of disciplinary proceedings to all member states could ultimately lead to a vote on whether he should be removed from office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only the Assembly of States Parties has the authority to dismiss the prosecutor. A majority vote in a secret ballot would be required, meaning at least 63 of the court’s 125 member states would need to support his removal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Khan has already been on voluntary leave from the Office of the Prosecutor
since May while the inquiry was underway. As a result, his suspension is not expected to significantly affect the court’s day-to-day operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A date for the special session of member states has not yet been announced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Khan has served as ICC prosecutor since 2021 and gained international prominence for pursuing investigations and arrest warrants in several high-profile conflicts, including cases related to the war in Gaza and former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Karim Khan is the first ICC prosecutor to be formally suspended from his role by the court’s oversight body.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has suspended its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, following the conclusion of a disciplinary process stemming from allegations of sexual misconduct.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000115210,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[151,101],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000115202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-justice","tag-editors-choice","tag-internationl","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000115210,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/2025-01-16T135023Z_464231263_RC2XACAJMECS_RTRMADP_3_ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-ICC-KHAN-1780963689.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":770,"height":513,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/2025-01-16T135023Z_464231263_RC2XACAJMECS_RTRMADP_3_ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-ICC-KHAN-1780963689.jpg","width":770,"height":513},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/2025-01-16T135023Z_464231263_RC2XACAJMECS_RTRMADP_3_ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-ICC-KHAN-1780963689.jpg","width":770,"height":513},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/2025-01-16T135023Z_464231263_RC2XACAJMECS_RTRMADP_3_ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-ICC-KHAN-1780963689.jpg","width":770,"height":513},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/2025-01-16T135023Z_464231263_RC2XACAJMECS_RTRMADP_3_ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-ICC-KHAN-1780963689.jpg","width":770,"height":513},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/2025-01-16T135023Z_464231263_RC2XACAJMECS_RTRMADP_3_ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-ICC-KHAN-1780963689.jpg","width":770,"height":513}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000115202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000115202"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000115202\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000115212,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000115202\/revisions\/2000115212"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000115210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000115202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000115202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000115202"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000115202"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000115202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}