Members of the International Criminal Court (ICC) voted to remove Karim Khan from his position as ICC prosecutor due to serious misconduct charges after a female assistant accused him of sexual harassment.
On Friday, 24 Jul 2025 GMT+7, ICC member countries officially voted to remove 56-year-old prosecutor Karim Khan amid allegations of sexual harassment against a female assistant on his team, while Khan's lawyer claimed the decision was politically motivated.
In a secret ballot at the United Nations headquarters in New York, 82 of 125 countries voted to remove Khan for "serious disciplinary violations and gross dereliction of duty," with only 13 countries voting to keep him, and 15 abstaining.
Khan had been on temporary leave since May 2025 GMT+7 to face the charges after a female colleague's allegations led to an investigative committee; he continues to deny all accusations and plans to legally appeal the decision.
The victim, a Malaysian lawyer and former direct assistant to Khan, told CNN the incidents escalated to harassment and physical abuse, adding, "Given this severe power imbalance, there could be no mutual consent because he was not just my boss but everyone's boss."
Khan's lawyer warned that the removal could seriously undermine the ICC's independence if the process is politically motivated or lacks fairness.
The United States expressed approval, with a State Department spokesperson saying Khan was part of an organization too corrupt to save (noting the U.S. and Israel are not ICC members).
Israel's Foreign Minister called the removal long overdue and suggested that Khan's earlier arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the former Israeli Defense Minister were attempts to deflect from his own misconduct.
Human Rights Watch stated that the ICC is greater than any individual and expressed hope that the organization will continue to uphold strict standards of credibility and workplace safety.
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Source:cna