The International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor is exposed to increased pressure from reports showing the seriousness of sexual misconduct levelled against him by junior colleagues.
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Karim Khan, the ICC chief prosecutor since 2021, has been accused of forcing a female assistant in a hotel room in New York in December 2023.
The incident is being investigated as part of a pattern of inappropriate emotionality, harassment and alleged forced sex that took place against his accuser.
The assistant, a Malaysian lawyer in her 30s, claimed that Khan forced her to have more sex with her will during missions in New York, Colombia, Congo, Chad and Paris.
Khan’s lawyers say all allegations of sexual violence and misconduct are “decisively untrue.”
The charges have been subject to external investigations since the end of last year. Previous internal investigations were closed within five days without any action.
Timing issue?
One issue swirling around the incident is the timing of Khan’s arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Joa Garant. This is a move that he was personally approved by the Trump administration.
The controversial warrant was issued two weeks after the allegations against Khan were officially leveled.
Critics of the Israeli court investigation have raised the question of whether Khan took unprecedented actions to improve his image in the face of an imminent scandal, particularly after months of criticism of the ICC, while Israel is intensifying its war with Hamas in Gaza.
Israel has now requested that the court withdraw the warrant against Netanyahu and cancel investigations into alleged Israeli crimes in Gaza and the West Bank.
Khan’s lawyers denied allegations that the warrant and sexual misconduct charges were somehow linked. Khan says the lawsuit against him is part of a broader attempt to distrust the ICC.
The UN’s internal monitoring services report on alleged fraud by Khan is expected in the coming months.
