ICC prosecutor denies sexual misconduct allegations

The astir elder authoritative of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, has denied allegations of intersexual misconduct and asked for an contiguous investigation.

In a statement, helium announced that helium had asked the ICC's watchdog, the Independent Oversight Mechanism (IOM), to behaviour the investigation.

He besides said helium had requested an enquiry into what helium termed evident "disinformation" related to the case.

This determination follows caller media reports which cited a papers outlining accusations against Mr Khan. They are understood to see unwanted intersexual touching and "abuse".

This is denied by Mr Khan, who has said helium volition co-operate afloat with the inquiry.

The ICC has been nether aggravated scrutiny pursuing the prosecutor's petition for apprehension warrants linked to the struggle successful Gaza.

This improvement comes aft the president of the ICC's Assembly of States Parties (ASP), the court's absorption oversight and legislative body, revealed past week that the IOM had been successful interaction with the alleged victim, but said it was not successful a presumption to proceed with an probe astatine that stage.

According to the Guardian newspaper, the pistillate lawyer who was subjected to unwanted intersexual advances by Mr Khan, implicit an extended play of clip and successful assorted locations, had concerns astir the IOM's competence and was not fixed capable accidental to person the substance investigated by an outer body.

ASP President Paivi Kaukoranta referenced the IOM's 2023-2024 yearly report, which states that, "following the speech with the alleged victim, the IOM was not successful a presumption to proceed with an probe astatine that stage. Measures to safeguard everyone’s rights were recommended."

In an earlier statement, Mr Khan did not explicitly blasted Israel, but did juxtapose the intersexual misconduct allegations and efforts to undermine his presumption erstwhile helium described this arsenic "a infinitesimal successful which myself and the International Criminal Court are taxable to a wide scope of attacks and threat".

But the intersexual misconduct allegations are understood to pre-date his petition for apprehension warrants linked to the struggle successful Gaza.

A sheet of 3 ICC judges is presently considering requests by Mr Khan to contented apprehension warrants for Israeli leaders - including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - for alleged warfare crimes and crimes against humanity committed successful Gaza.

The tribunal of past edifice was acceptable up to woody with the astir heinous crimes of an planetary quality erstwhile countries are incapable oregon unwilling to prosecute precocious ranking individuals accused of atrocities.

Mr Khan said helium learnt that the accusations were to beryllium "aired publicly" with "deep sadness", and that determination was "no information to suggestions of specified misconduct".

The superior allegations person reached the nationalist domain astatine a delicate infinitesimal for the ICC.

Based successful The Hague, successful the Netherlands, the ICC present faces an unrivalled crisis, with intensifying interior wranglings implicit the handling of the allegations, and evident efforts by the court’s critics to politicise them.

Kaukoranta said the ICC had a "zero-tolerance policy" towards prohibited conduct, specified as harassment, including intersexual harassment, favoritism and maltreatment of authority, and that she remained "in interaction with each individuals acrophobic to guarantee that everyone's rights proceed to beryllium safeguarded".