The Governing Council of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague will launch an external investigation into its prosecutor, Karim Khan, over allegations of alleged sexual abuse. This is stated in the statement of the council.
“An external investigation is underway … in order to ensure a fully independent, impartial and fair process,” the statement said, along with a call for full cooperation from all parties.
Khan himself said in a statement that he would continue to carry out his role, which is not related to the “improper” investigation, mainly overseeing the investigation into alleged war crimes related to the conflict in the Gaza Strip in particular.
“I welcome the opportunity to be involved in this process,” Khan said in a statement, according to AFP.
In May of this year, for example, Khan requested the issuance of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant and three leaders of the Palestinian radical movement Hamas: Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniya and Muhammad Daif. ICC prosecutors say there are reasonable grounds to suspect the men have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Sinwár and Hanija are already dead as a result of Israeli operations. Israel claims that Daif also died in July, but Hamas has not yet confirmed this.
In September, Israel filed an official objection to the ICC prosecutor’s request for an arrest warrant against its officials. In its filing, Israel’s Foreign Ministry challenges the jurisdiction of the ICC as well as the legality of the prosecutor’s request, and also claims that Khan violated the court’s rules and did not offer Israel an opportunity to investigate the claims.
Khan, a British lawyer specializing in war crimes, is accused of sexual abuse by his assistant. The prosecutor denies the charges, and ICC officials have described them as part of a campaign by Israel’s secret services to discredit Khan.
Source: spravy.pravda.sk
