ICC prosecutor, under investigation, steps aside temporarily

THE HAGUE: The International Criminal Court´s chief prosecutor has stepped aside pending the conclusion of a probe into a misconduct allegation against him, his office said on Friday, as media reports cite accusations of sexual misconduct.

News of Karim Khan´s leave have plunged the ICC, already under fire from critics and targeted by US sanctions aimed at the prosecutor, into further uncertainty. The UN Office of Internal Oversight Services announced its investigation in November, with reports saying Khan was accused of sexual misconduct towards a member of his office.

Khan, 55, denies the allegations. Khan “communicated his decision to take leave until the end” of the UN internal investigation, and his deputy prosecutors will run the office in his absence, his office said in a statement.

The Wall Street Journal reported that an assistant, a woman in her 30s, told UN officials that Khan touched her in a sexual manner in December 2023. She alleged the touching escalated into her him forcing her to have sexual intercourse, according to the testimony cited by the newspaper.

After allegations of misconduct became public, Khan said in October he would cooperate with any probe and denied wrongdoing. “It was with deep sadness that I understood reports of misconduct were to be aired publicly in relation to me,” Khan said.

“There is no truth to suggestions of such misconduct,” he said in a statement mailed to AFP. The British lawyer took up his position with The Hague-based court in June 2021.