Member states of the International Criminal Court voted on Friday to dismiss Karim Khan as prosecutor following allegations of sexual misconduct, two diplomatic sources told Reuters.According to the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, 82 of the court’s 125 member states voted in favor of the prosecutor’s removal.Khan, 56, denies any wrongdoing and his lawyers have called the process that led to the vote unlawful, procedurally unfair and unsupported by evidence.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Khan’s dismissal follows an announcement by the United States that it will launch a renewed diplomatic campaign to dismantle the ICC, which it says is a threat to its sovereignty.Diplomats running the court’s oversight body decided last month that the British barrister had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a junior ICC lawyer and should be fired.Member states largely followed that conclusion in a vote at the United Nations in New York on Friday.
Rubio decries ‘lunatics’ at the court
During a visit to the Philippines on Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there were "lunatics and crazies involved in the ICC" and there was no way any US political or military officials would ever go on trial at the court, reiterating previous criticism.The US, which is not a member, has imposed sanctions on 11 ICC judges and prosecutors, including Khan, citing the ICC’s arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and a past probe into US troops in Afghanistan.
