NEW YORK, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), Member states of the International Criminal Court (ICC) voted Friday to remove chief prosecutor Karim Khan over sexual misconduct allegations, his legal team said, pledging to challenge the decision through all available legal avenues.
Tayab Ali, head of Khan’s legal team, said the Assembly of States Parties had disregarded serious due process concerns and removed Khan despite the absence of a lawful finding of misconduct.
A total of 82 of the court’s 125 member states supported Khan’s dismissal during a secret vote at the UN headquarters in New York. 13 voted against, with 15 abstentions.
Khan and some of his backers have argued the case against him is politically motivated.
As prosecutor, Khan was leading probes into multiple conflicts, but his decision in 2024 to seek arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, including premier Benjamin Netanyahu and then army minister Yoav Gallant, prompted an intense backlash from pro-Israel governments, especially the US administration, which threatened to dismantle the ICC.
The ICC later issued warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant. The action drew condemnation from Israel and the US, which imposed sanctions on Khan and other ICC officials.
