The British chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, has spoken publicly for the first time since he went on extended leave last May pending the outcome of a United Nations investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against him.
In an interview with journalist Mehdi Hasan on Zeteo, Khan insisted he is innocent of all allegations against him, and said he has faced significant pressure and threats over his pursuit of arrest warrants for Israeli officials - including from David Cameron, the then British foreign secretary, and US Senator Lindsey Graham.
Many of Khan's comments appear to corroborate Middle East Eye's previous exclusive reporting on efforts to undermine the prosecutor.
Last month, MEE reported that a panel of judges appointed by the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP), the ICC’s governing body, to review the UN investigation had concluded it had not established any "misconduct or breach of duty" by Khan.
But the chief prosecutor has still not returned to his duties. MEE later reported that a group of disproportionately western and European states voted at a bureau meeting to disregard the panel of judges and make their own assessment, based on the UN report.
