ICC member states to vote July 24 on whether to remove chief prosecutor — WSJ

Report says vote will likely see most members of International Criminal Court at odds with group of African countries that have backed Karim Khan amid sexual misconduct probe

The International Criminal Court has scheduled a vote for July 24 on whether to remove chief prosecutor Karim Khan from office, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing diplomats and documents.

The ICC did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment and there was no immediate statement from Khan.

Reuters reported earlier this month, citing a diplomatic source, that the executive bureau of the court’s governing body suspended Khan after ruling he committed serious misconduct following an 18-month-long probe into accusations that he had non-consensual sexual interactions with a lawyer in his office.

Khan, 56, has always denied the charges, with his lawyers denouncing his suspension and the pending vote on his removal “unlawful, procedurally unfair and unsupported by evidence.”

All 125 ICC member states will vote on Khan’s fate, with the Wall Street Journal report citing court officials who said the July 24 session is expected to see most members at odds with a small group of primarily African countries that have backed Khan, whose removal will require a majority in a secret ballot.

The ICC has been thrust into crisis by the investigations into Khan — its most prominent official — as well as by US sanctions over the court’s actions, including arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

In addition to the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, Khan also issued arrest warrants for three leaders of the Palestinian terror group Hamas, all of whom were subsequently killed by Israel.

Khan has not been at the helm of the ICC Office of the Prosecutor since last May, when he took a voluntary leave of absence pending the outcome of the inquiry. He is the first ICC prosecutor to be formally suspended from his role by the court’s oversight body.