ICC member states vote to dismiss chief prosecutor Khan

(CNN) — International Criminal Court member states voted Friday to dismiss the court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, following allegations of sexual misconduct.

The vote to remove Khan comes days after his accuser went public in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. Khan has denied all wrongdoing.

It also comes amid renewed scrutiny of the war crimes court by Washington, which sees the independent judicial body as a threat to the United States’ own sovereignty.

Assembly of States President Päivi Kaukoranta said 82 of ⁠the court’s 125 member states voted in ⁠favor of the prosecutor’s ⁠removal, concluding that Khan “committed serious misconduct and a serious breach of duty.”

Khan will challenge the decision, his attorney Tayab Ali said in a statement after the vote, adding that it was “unsupported by any lawful or properly reasoned finding that Mr Khan KC committed misconduct or breached his duties.”

“He has denied the allegations from the outset and continues to do so,” Ali wrote.

The secret ballot to oust Khan was held at a meeting at the UN headquarters in New York on Friday afternoon after the allegations against him first emerged in 2024.

The allegations

For months, the UN investigated the claims made by his accuser Sarah, who wished to use her first name only, that he sexually harassed her and repeatedly subjected her to non-consensual sexual acts, including groping, attempted kissing and digital and genital penetration.

Sarah, an ICC junior staffer who worked for Khan, described to Amanpour how his actions left her feeling “humiliated.”

“(There was) the pawing, the physical nature of it – but it didn’t start that way. Because it was kind of like encroachments on the boundaries slowly – not just physically but emotionally as well,” she said.

Khan, 56, cooperated with the UN investigation, according to its report.

In a previous interview with journalist Mehdi Hasan, Khan denied having a sexual relationship with the staff member, noting that he told UN investigators in his first comments to them that he “completely denied engaging in any harassment, abuse of authority, inappropriate behavior whatsoever,” also highlighting that he cooperated with the investigation.

The court’s oversight body suspended Khan in June pending Friday’s vote by member states.

Norway’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andreas Kravik, whose country voted to remove Khan, said before the session that the prosecutor was “unfit” to serve. “The world, and not least the victims of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, needs an International Criminal Court that functions effectively,” he said.

Khan and some of his defenders have claimed the allegations are part of an effort to damage his reputation after his pursuit of warrants against Israeli officials for alleged war crimes.

In May 2024, Khan sought arrest warrants for three top Hamas leaders as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in relation to the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza. Israel, which is not a member of the court, has rejected the warrants and welcomed Khan’s removal on Friday, accusing him of conducting a witch hunt.

The timing led to speculation – both within the ICC and outside the court – that Sarah’s allegations were part of a state-sponsored effort by Israel to discredit Khan. Sarah, though, has vehemently denied claims she worked as a “state actor” for Israel.

The dismissal of Khan comes at a moment of intense scrutiny of the ICC, particularly from the US. The US is not a member and has imposed sanctions on 11 ICC judges and prosecutors, including Khan, citing the ICC’s arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant, as well as a past probe into US troops in Afghanistan, which the ICC says was deprioritized but remains open.

On Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said ⁠there were “lunatics and crazies” in the ICC and no US officials would ever stand trial there.

This is a breaking news story that will be updated.

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CNN’s Lauren Kent and Michael Rios contributed to this report.