ICC prosecutor Khan on leave amid sexual misconduct probe

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, has stepped down temporarily as an investigation by the United Nations into alleged sexual misconduct by him nears its end, his office said on Friday.

The move is unprecedented and there is no clear procedure for replacing Khan. The situation creates added uncertainty for the ICC, which is already facing an existential crisis due to US sanctions over its arrest warrants for Israeli officials.

The ICC’s two deputy prosecutors will take over his duties in the meantime, his office said.

Khan’s office said the prosecutor had taken leave until the end of the investigation by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services.

The prosecutor has denied allegations of misconduct that were reported to the court’s governing body in October last year.

In a letter sent to his staff and seen by Reuters, the prosecutor said that he had been keeping his position under constant review. “In light of escalating media reports, I have made the considered decision to take leave,” Khan said.

“My decision is driven by a deep and unwavering commitment to the credibility of our Office and the Court, and to safeguard the integrity of the process and fairness to all involved,” he said.

Khan had earlier ignored calls by NGOs and ICC staff to step down while the investigation was underway. Several of those NGOs on Friday hailed his decision to temporarily step down as a sign that no one is above the law.

“Stepping aside helps protect the court’s credibility and the trust of victims, staff, and the public. For the alleged victim and whistleblowers, this is also a moment of recognition and dignity,” said Danya Chaikel of human rights watchdog FIDH.

Others said suspending Khan would not derail the ICC’s investigations as the office of the prosecutor is not a one-man show.

“In fact, removing an individual whose alleged behavior may have fueled a toxic work culture may strengthen the office’s ability to carry out its mandate with professionalism and public trust,” Alix Vuillemin of the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice told Reuters.

Sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, told Reuters that Khan had spoken to UN investigators last week in what is believed to be the final interview of the external investigation into the allegations, which started in December.

It is unclear when the probe will finish and also what the outcome will be and what it would mean.

Khan allegedly forced sexual intercourse upon a member of staff on multiple occasions, The Wall Street Journal said last week, in a report that questioned whether the allegations may have prompted his decision to issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-defense minister Yoav Gallant.

The report said that at the time — weeks after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, onslaught — Khan was coming under increasing pressure to take action over Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, and that he had been lashing out at his team.

A Malaysian lawyer in her 30s reportedly asked to meet with Kahn to ask him to change the manner in which he interacted with the staff. In response, he summoned her to his suite in the Millennium Hilton Hotel next to the UN headquarters in New York.

According to the report, the woman testified to UN officials that Khan started to touch her in a sexual manner, something that she said had been occurring for a number of months.

“She said she attempted to leave the room several times, but he took her hand and eventually pulled her to the bed. Then he pulled off her pants and forced sexual intercourse, according to the testimony,” the report said.

“He always holds on to me and leads me to the bed,” she said in testimony reviewed by the Journal. “It’s the feeling of being trapped.”

The report said the woman, a married mother, claimed it was one of multiple incidents of “coerced sexual intercourse” but that she stayed in the job because she felt it was an important role in human rights, and she was additionally paying for medical care for her mother. The report said she also began to fear retaliation if she were to complain.

The woman alleged that Khan carried out “nonconsensual sex acts” in New York, Colombia, Congo, Chad and Paris, as well as at a residence owned by his wife in The Hague, the report said.

Khan, through his lawyers, told the newspaper that it is “categorically untrue that he has engaged in sexual misconduct of any kind.”

The newspaper said that just two and a half weeks after Khan learned of the allegations, on May 20, 2024, he announced his intention to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant over the war in Gaza, in addition to Hamas leaders. The day before, he had canceled a fact-finding mission to Israel and Gaza for which he had pressed then-US secretary of state Anthony Blinken to convince Israel to grant him access to Gaza, the report said, citing a May 3, 2024, phone call between the two. According to the newspaper, it was at that time that Khan found out about the allegations against him.

“The timing of the announcement has spurred questions about whether Khan was aiming to protect himself from the sexual-assault allegations. The day before announcing the warrant application, Khan abruptly canceled a trip to Israel and Gaza that he had previously said was important to make his decision,” the report said.

According to the Journal, Alan Dershowitz had been organizing a meeting that was set to take place during the trip between Khan and Netanyahu.

Lawyers for Khan denied any connection between the allegations and the warrants.

Khan said the fact that the ICC judges approved the warrants shows that the evidence for them “met the rigorous legal threshold required.” The report also noted that already in March 2024, Khan had notified US State Department officials that he intended to seek the arrest warrants, and that was before the allegations were made against him.

However, court officials told the newspaper that the arrest warrants ensured support for Khan from anti-Israel countries if the allegations were to become public and additionally discouraged his accuser from coming forward.

The woman allegedly told investigators that Khan had informed her that her accusations would harm the investigation into the Gaza war.

“Think about the Palestinian arrest warrants,” she said he told her, according to her testimony.

The woman, a Muslim, was said to support investigations of Netanyahu, Gallant and Hamas. She reportedly later told colleagues she didn’t want to harm the arrest warrant process by filing a complaint. On April 29 of that year, she eventually told officials about the alleged assaults, and on May 5, the ICC’s internal investigation agency contacted her.

On November 24, 2024, the ICC issued warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant. The Prime Minister’s Office panned the move in a statement as an “antisemitic decision” and asserted that it stemmed from Khan’s efforts to “save his skin from the serious charges against him for sexual harassment” as well as the beliefs of “biased judges motivated by antisemitic hatred of Israel.”

ICC warrants were also issued against three Hamas leaders, all of whom have since been killed by Israel.

Last month, it was reported that United Nations investigators examining the allegations of sexual misconduct were also looking into allegations that Khan retaliated against staff who reported the allegations or were critical of his handling of the matter.

Khan has alleged that the accusations against him were part of an effort to undermine the ICC. The Journal report said that court officials were concerned that the Mossad was operating at The Hague. No further details were given.