The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday suspended Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan as an independent probe is launched into allegations of sexual misconduct.
The court’s deputy prosecutors will now be in charge of managing the prosecutor’s office while Khan is on leave, the court noted in a statement.
Danya Chaikel, the ICC representative from the International Federation for Human Rights said no operation of the court will be hampered by the suspension. “The cases and investigations have been carried out by professionals,” she said.
Before his elevation to the position of Chief Prosecutor Khan served as an ICC attorney and also represented Dr. William Samoei Ruto in his ICC trial.
Khan’s travails begun in February when U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration filed sanctions against him in relation to his Israel warrants. He had called upon the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Natanyahu together with two other senior government officials in relation to the ongoing unrest in Gaza strip.
The Associated Press pushed for a no-holds-barred investigation into the conduct of the Prosecutor following allegations that he had molested a female employee of ICC by making sexual advances for over a year.
The investigations now focus on multiple victims who claim they were forced into compromising situations and were terrified of losing their positions if they refused his alleged advances. The scandal, laced with humiliating details, paints a picture of a man intoxicated by power and privilege.
Insinuation has also been made that Khan could possibly have received bribes during the execution of his work.
The incisive investigations have put to scrutiny the United Nations funded institution and called into sharp critique international jurisprudence.
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