The International Criminal Court (ICC) has temporarily suspended its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, following an 18-month investigation into sexual harassment allegations, and referred his case to the court’s member states for a final decision on whether to keep him in his post or remove him.
Citing an unnamed “diplomatic source,” Reuters reported that the executive bureau of the court’s governing body concluded Karim Khan had “committed serious misconduct following an 18-month-long probe into accusations that the prosecutor had non-consensual sexual interactions with a lawyer in his office,” and recommended his removal. The matter will be put to a vote by the 125 member states in an upcoming special session.
Although the body did not disclose details of the decision, which would remain confidential along with the related documents, it confirmed that Khan’s suspension takes immediate effect, stressing that the move does not resolve the case or determine its outcome.
Khan, for his part, categorically rejected the accusations against him, and his lawyers described the decision as unlawful, procedurally improper, and not based on sufficient evidence, maintaining that the prosecutor had committed no misconduct.
The case stems from a complaint of sexual misconduct against Khan filed by a staffer in the prosecutor’s office. A report by United Nations investigators concluded there was a “factual basis” for the allegations, while an analysis of that report by three judges found the evidence insufficient to establish the truth of the allegations beyond reasonable doubt.
Karim Khan has not led the ICC prosecutor’s office since May 2025, having voluntarily stepped aside pending the completion of the investigations, making the latest suspension decision limited in its immediate impact on the court’s work.
Khan, whose suspension as prosecutor marks the first such decision in the ICC’s 24-year history, is one of the most prominent figures to have held the post. His profile rose two years ago, after arrest warrants were issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes in Gaza, which stoked tension with the United States and led to US sanctions on several court officials.
These developments come as the ICC faces mounting pressure over its investigations into Israeli war crimes in Gaza, particularly after it rejected appeals by Israel to halt the investigations and others seeking to withdraw the arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant.
