Karim Khan, the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor, who issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, has been suspended pending disciplinary proceedings over allegations of sexual misconduct.
The Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties, the executive committee of the ICC’s governing body, announced Khan’s immediate suspension on Monday. The decision was based on an investigation by the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services, underlying evidence, advice from an ad hoc panel of judicial experts and written submissions from the parties involved. The bureau stressed that the suspension does not prejudge the final outcome.
Khan, a British barrister, has denied all allegations. According to a copy of the U.N. report reviewed by The Associated Press, investigators found evidence that Khan engaged in “nonconsensual sexual contact” with a female aide in his office, at his private residence and while traveling on official missions. Khan voluntarily stepped down on a temporary basis in May 2025 while the investigation was ongoing.
The matter now moves to the 125-member Assembly of States Parties, which oversees the Hague-based court. A majority vote in a special session, to be scheduled at a later date, would be required to remove Khan from office. The assembly said that the vote would be held “as soon as possible.”
The United States sanctioned Khan in February 2025 after issuing arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant on war crime allegations related to Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Washington later imposed sanctions on several ICC judges involved in actions targeting Israeli and U.S. personnel.
The steps were taken under the American Service-Members’ Protection Act, also known as the Hague Invasion Act, which is designed to protect American service members and U.S. allies who are not ICC signatories from prosecution, using “all means necessary.”
The sanctions reportedly disrupted Khan’s ability to carry out his duties, including the loss of access to his official Microsoft email account and restrictions on his banking services.
Established by the 1998 Rome Statute, the ICC prosecutes individuals accused of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.
Khan was reportedly preparing additional warrants for Israeli officials before stepping aside in 2025.
Israel has strongly disputed the ICC’s case against Netanyahu and Gallant. Critics of Khan have also questioned the timing of his May 2024 announcement of the warrants, which came on the day he had been scheduled to visit Israel as part of his investigation, fueling accusations that the move was politically motivated rather than evidence-based.
