Karim Khan, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), is facing an investigation for "inappropriate sexual behavior" and for allegedly trying to silence the victim to deny the allegations against him and close the case.
As revealed by The Guardian, the 54-year-old Scottish jurist may be involved in several episodes of "inappropriate sexual behavior" between April 2023 and 2024 with a lawyer in her thirties who worked under his orders, including an incident where he allegedly groped her and inserted his tongue into the victim's ear.
Khan has denied the accusations and his circle has pointed to a "smear campaign" against the ICC launched by Israel. However, the allegations predate the authorization requested by Khan last May to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for their possible criminal responsibility in "war crimes."
President Joe Biden once described the Prosecutor's decision as "scandalous." Khan, who also requested arrest warrants against Hamas leaders Mohamed Deif, Ismael Haniyah, and Yahya Sinwar (the latter two already deceased), stated that evidence collected by the ICC showed that Israel "intentionally and systematically deprived the civilian population of Gaza of essential targets for human survival."
The Guardian also recently revealed how Israeli Intelligence services have been conducting a systematic campaign for a decade to discredit the ICC and intimidate and threaten its personnel. The British newspaper, however, claims to have found no evidence that Israel or any other country is related to the alleged case of "inappropriate sexual behavior" that has been haunting Karim Khan, born in Edinburgh in 1970 to Pakistani immigrants.
In a public statement, Khan warns that both he and the International Criminal Court have been subjected to "a wide range of attacks and threats". The Prosecutor asserts that it is "not true" that he engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior and refers to "30 years of work in various contexts without any similar complaint from anyone."
Sources consulted by The Guardian claim that the alleged victim is under "severe stress" due to the situation. "She never wanted it to come to this point," recounts a close friend. "But the complaint was formally filed against her will, followed by Khan's attempts to suppress the allegations, and that has put her in a very difficult situation."
Unions have called for "an investigation by an external panel to avoid conflicts of interest." Meanwhile, the alleged victim is in contact with the Assembly of States Parties, the governing body of the ICC, which can decide to open a new investigation and ultimately determine the future of Karim Khan.