ICC member states reportedly 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, according to Reuters and AP citing multiple diplomatic sources.

The vote to remove Khan 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.

According to two diplomatic sources, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity to ‌discuss a sensitive matter, 82 of ⁠the court’s 125 member states voted in ⁠favour of the prosecutor’s ⁠removal.

The secret ballot was held at a meeting at the UN headquarters in New York on Friday afternoon.

For months, the UN investigated claims by a female lawyer, an ICC junior staffer who worked for Khan, that he sexually harassed her and repeatedly subjected her to non-consensual sexual acts, including groping, attempted kissing and digital and genital penetration.

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

His legal team did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment on his dismissal, and has previously denied any wrongdoing.

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 allegations against Khan first emerged in 2024. His accuser, Sarah, who wished to use her first name only, spoke out publicly earlier this month. In an exclusive interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, she said that she felt “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.

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

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.

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 contributed to this report.