The chief prosecutor of the ICC, sentenced to 15 years in prison by the Russian judiciary. Eight judges of the Court also received punishments
Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan as he waits for former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to appear via video conference before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands on March 14, 2025. PHOTO: Peter Dejong/AP/Profimedia
The Russian judiciary on Friday sentenced in absentia the chief prosecutor and eight judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prison terms, in particular for issuing “illegal arrest warrants” against Russian officials, including the name of Russian President Vladimir Putin, writes AFP.
“The ICC prosecutor Karim Khan illegally initiated proceedings against Russian citizens in The Hague,” a Moscow court ruled on Friday.
Khan “instructed court judges to issue illegal arrest warrants,” the Moscow court added.
The chief prosecutor of the ICC was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison, and eight members of the Court, including its former president, Piotr Hofmanski, received prison sentences ranging from three and a half years to 15 years, according to Agerpres.
In 2023, Karim Khan issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for the alleged war crime of “illegal deportation of children” during Moscow's offensive in Ukraine.
The following year, the ICC issued arrest warrants for the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, General Valeri Gherasimov, and for Sergei Shoigu, Minister of Defense until May 2024, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The Russian judiciary responded by issuing its own arrest warrants for senior ICC officials.
Khan stepped down in May after an internal investigation was opened against him for “alleged misconduct”, which allegedly involved the sexual harassment of a female employee.
Khan has temporarily stepped down from his position pending an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse, allegations he denies.
The ICC, based in The Hague, investigates and prosecutes genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression.
The Hague court also issued arrest warrants for three senior officials of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant.
The United States, which, like Russia and Israel, is not a member of the ICC, imposed sanctions against Khan and the Court's judges following the warrant issued in Netanyahu's name.
