Reuters learned of US sanctions against the ICC chief prosecutor

The appendix to Trump's executive order listing the names of sanctioned individuals has not yet been published. Karim Khan

ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan, who issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Galant, has been sanctioned by the United States . This was reported.REUTERS two informed sources.

US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on the ICC on the night of February 7. The Israeli prime minister visited the United States three days earlier. Washington accused the ICC of abuse of power, illegally targeting American officials, and issuing warrants for the arrest of Netanyahu and Galant without cause. The order emphasized that the court has no jurisdiction over the United States or Israel.

The document does not specify the names of specific individuals subject to sanctions: these are to be set out in an appendix or further determined by the US Secretary of State in consultation with the Justice Department and the Treasury Department. The Secretaries of State and Treasury are required to submit a list of individuals subject to sanctions to the President within 60 days.

The application has not yet been published, but it includes the name of Karim Khan, a British citizen , sources told Reuters. The measures against him include a freeze on his assets in the US and a travel ban for him and his family. The same applies to other individuals targeted for sanctions.

In 2020, Trump imposed sanctions on Karim Khan's predecessor, Fatou Bensouda, for her decision to launch an investigation into war crimes committed in Afghanistan by all parties, including the United States, according to the Associated Press. However, under former President Joe Biden, these sanctions were lifted, and the United States resumed cooperation with the ICC.

The United States has not ratified the Rome Statute, the founding document of the International Criminal Court. Like Israel, it is not a member of the ICC.

Netanyahu welcomed Trump's sanctions against the ICC. The restrictions will threaten the ICC's access to banking and payment systems, IT infrastructure, and will also prevent US-based companies from doing business with the court or conducting court transactions, The Guardian reported. Among the main concerns is the ICC's dependence on an American company.MICROSOFT , which is helping modernize judicial IT systems. The Microsoft Azure cloud platform is so critical that the publication's sources predict that court operations will be paralyzed.

"We essentially store all our evidence in the cloud," one source explained to the newspaper.

In March 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Children's Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova. The court suspects them of "illegally deporting children from the occupied territories of Ukraine to the Russian Federation" beginning on February 24, 2022.

The Russian Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case against Khan and the ICC judges. The Kremlin emphasizes that Russia does not recognize the court's jurisdiction. The court's decisions are null and void, said presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov .

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