International court prosecutor who charged Netanyahu accused of sexual misconduct by aide

As nan International Criminal Court’s apical charismatic sought warfare crimes charges this twelvemonth against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu complete actions successful Gaza, he was engulfed successful a very different individual situation playing retired down nan scenes.

Karim Khan faced accusations that he tried for much than a twelvemonth to coerce a female adjutant into a intersexual narration and groped her against her will.

He’s categorically denied nan allegations, saying location was “no truth to suggestions of misconduct.”

Court officials person said they whitethorn person been made arsenic portion of an Israeli intelligence smear campaign.

Two co-workers successful whom nan female confided astatine the ICC’s office astatine The Hague reported nan alleged misconduct successful early May to nan court’s independent watchdog, which says it interviewed nan female and ended its enquiry aft 5 days erstwhile she opted against filing a general complaint. Khan himself was ne'er questioned.

But nan matter whitethorn not beryllium over.

While nan female declined to remark to The Associated Press, group adjacent to her opportunity her first reluctance was driven by distrust of nan in-house watchdog and she has asked nan assemblage of member-states that oversees nan ICC to motorboat an outer probe.

An ICC charismatic pinch knowledge of nan matter who said to AP connected information of anonymity confirmed that nan petition remains nether consideration.

Those efforts were applauded by those adjacent to nan woman, who still useful astatine nan court.

“This wasn’t a one-time beforehand aliases an limb astir nan enarthrosis that could beryllium taxable to misinterpretation,” 1 of nan group told AP, speaking connected information connected anonymity to shield nan woman’s identity. “It was a full-on, repeated shape of behaviour that was carried retired complete a agelong play of time.”

While nan court’s watchdog could not find wrongdoing, it nevertheless urged Khan successful a memo to minimize interaction pinch nan female to protect nan authorities of each progressive and safeguard nan court’s integrity.

Within days of nan watchdog’s shelving of nan case, nan court’s activity went on. Khan connected May 20 sought arrest warrants against Netanyahu, his defense curate and 3 Hamas leaders connected warfare crimes charges. A three-judge sheet is now weighing that request.

US President Joe Biden’s management said it was blindsided by nan move, pinch nan president calling nan prosecution “outrageous” for implying an equivalence betwixt Israel and Hamas.

In announcing nan charges, Khan hinted that extracurricular forces were waging a run to derail his investigation.

“I insist that each attempts to impede, intimidate aliases improperly power nan officials of this tribunal must cease immediately,” Khan said, adding he wouldn’t hesitate to usage his authority to analyse anyone suspected of obstructing justice.

The allegations

AP pieced together specifications of nan accusations done whistleblower documents shared pinch the court’s independent watchdog and interviews pinch 8 ICC officials and individuals adjacent to nan woman. All said connected nan information of anonymity owed to nan delicate quality of nan allegations aliases fearfulness of retaliation.

Among nan allegations told to AP is that Khan noticed nan female moving astatine different section astatine ICC and moved her into his office, a transportation that included a salary bump. Their clip together allegedly accrued aft a backstage meal successful London wherever Khan took nan woman’s manus and complained astir his marriage. She became a beingness connected charismatic trips and meetings pinch dignitaries.

During 1 specified trip, Khan allegedly asked nan female to remainder pinch him connected a edifice furniture and past “sexually touched her,” according to nan documents. Later, he came to her room astatine 3 a.m. and knocked connected nan doorway for 10 minutes.

Other allegedly nonconsensual behaviour cited successful nan documents included locking nan doorway of his agency and sticking his manus successful her pocket. He besides allegedly asked her connected respective occasions to spell connected a picnic together.

Upon returning to ICC’s office aft 1 trip, she tearfully complained to 2 co-workers astir Khan’s behaviour and nan anguish she felt for not opinionated up to a leader she erstwhile admired.

Those co-workers were shocked because Khan ever seemed to show exemplary behaviour astir women and has been outspoken against gender-based crimes.

They besides weighed nan accusations against nan backdrop of well-publicized attempts by intelligence agents from Israel and elsewhere to penetrate nan court, which created a activity situation plagued by intrigue and mistrust.

But successful nan aftermath of nan #MeToo movement, nary powerful man is supra scrutiny, and nan co-workers complied pinch tribunal workplace guidelines that encouraged nan reporting of misconduct by elder officials.

After months of inaction and whispered rumors of a brewing scandal, an anonymous relationship connected X called @ICC_Leaks last week began bringing immoderate of nan allegations to light.

Israel’s friends successful nan US Congress person besides seized connected nan would-be scandal. Sen. Lindsey Graham is seeking records astir whether nan misconduct accusations played immoderate domiciled in Khan’s decision in May to cancel an aide’s planned sojourn to Israel and move up pinch nan warfare crimes charges.

“Another unreality — a civilized 1 — hangs complete charismatic Khan’s abrupt determination to wantonness engagement pinch Israel and activity apprehension warrants,” nan South Carolina Republican wrote successful a missive to nan court’s oversight authority.

Khan, who is 54 and joined pinch 2 children, said successful a connection location was “no truth” to nan accusations, and that successful 30 years of scandal-free investigative activity he ever has stood pinch victims of intersexual harassment and abuse.

Khan added that he would beryllium willing, if asked, to cooperate pinch immoderate inquiry, saying it is basal that immoderate accusations “are thoroughly listened to, examined and subjected to a due process.”

Without naming immoderate entity directly, he noted that some he and nan tribunal person been nan target successful caller months of “a wide scope of attacks and threats,” immoderate besides aimed astatine his woman and family. Khan’s agency declined to supply specifics because nan incidents are nether investigation.

A increasing database of enemies

Under Khan, nan ICC has go much assertive successful combating crimes against humanity, warfare crimes and related atrocities. Along nan way, it has added to a increasing database of enemies.

Last September, pursuing nan opening of a probe into Russian atrocities successful Ukraine, nan tribunal suffered a debilitating cyberattack that near unit incapable to activity for weeks. It besides hired an intern who was later criminally charged successful nan US pinch being a Russian spy.

Israel has besides been waging its ain power run ever since nan ICC recognized Palestine arsenic a personnel and successful 2015 opened a preliminary investigation into what nan tribunal referred to arsenic “the business successful nan State of Palestine.”

London’s The Guardian newspaper and respective Israeli news outlets reported this summer that Israel’s intelligence agencies for nan past decade person allegedly targeted elder ICC staff, including putting Khan’s predecessor nether surveillance and showing up astatine her location pinch envelopes stuffed pinch rate to discredit her.

Netanyahu himself, successful nan days starring up to Khan’s announcement of warfare crimes charges, called connected nan world’s democracies “ to usage each nan intends astatine their disposal ” to artifact nan tribunal from what he called an “outrage of historical proportions.”

The Israeli overseas ministry referred AP’s inquiries astir nan lawsuit to nan Prime Minister’s office, which did not respond.

The US State Department declined to talk nan matter but said successful a connection that it “takes immoderate allegation of intersexual harassment seriously, and we would expect nan tribunal to do nan same.”

The Dutch overseas ministry and respective lawmakers successful nan Netherlands person called for an investigation into whether nan Israeli embassy has been conducting covert activities against nan ICC.

Who is Khan?

Khan, a British world lawyer, had a agelong history defending immoderate of nan world’s astir ruthless strongmen – including erstwhile Liberian President Charles Taylor and nan boy of nan precocious Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi — earlier being elected successful 2021 successful a concealed ballot to go main prosecutor.

The Rome Statute that established nan tribunal took effect successful 2002, pinch a instruction to prosecute warfare crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide — but only erstwhile home courts neglect to initiate their ain investigations. Neither nan US, Israel nor Russia are among nan 124 personnel nations recognizing nan court’s authority, though their citizens tin beryllium charged pinch crimes committed successful countries that are ICC members.

Still, Washington welcomed Khan’s election, particularly aft he moved to “deprioritize” an investigation opened by his predecessor into abuses by US subject unit successful Afghanistan.

Khan besides broadened nan court’s focus, bringing criminal charges for nan first clip against individuals extracurricular Africa. He charged Russian President Vladimir Putin for kidnapping children successful Ukraine and opened an investigation into Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for his crackdown connected protesters.

“He is by acold nan astir master jurist nan tribunal has had successful its short history,” said Kenneth Roth, laminitis and erstwhile executive head of Human Rights Watch. “He’s articulate, blase pinch nan media and has extended courtroom acquisition moving pinch nan highest standards of evidence.”

But Khan’s estimation pinch nan US came crashing down erstwhile he announced he was seeking nan apprehension of Netanyahu and Israel’s defense curate for warfare crimes including starvation of civilians.

To insulate himself from attacks that he held an anti-Israel bias, Khan, a practicing Muslim whose begetter migrated to nan UK from Pakistan, shared nan grounds pinch a sheet of experts including British quality authorities lawyer Amal Clooney, woman of character George Clooney.

‘Extreme fear’ to study misconduct

Although nan 900-employee ICC has agelong had a “zero-tolerance” argumentation connected intersexual harassment, an extracurricular reappraisal of nan court’s inner-workings successful 2020 recovered an unacceptable level of predatory behaviour by antheral bosses, a deficiency of women successful elder positions, and inadequate mechanisms for dealing pinch complaints and protecting whistleblowers.

“There is simply a wide reluctance, if not utmost fear, among galore unit to study immoderate alleged enactment of misconduct aliases misbehavior” by a elder official, the review concluded. “The cognition is that they are each immune.”

Although nan ICC’s policies person been updated since nan report, there’s nary definitive prohibition connected romanticist relationships for illustration location is successful galore American workplaces. And while elected officials specified arsenic Khan are expected to show “high civilized character,” there’s nary meaning of “serious misconduct” that would warrant removal.

“International organizations for illustration nan ICC are immoderate of nan past places wherever men successful positions of powerfulness dainty nan statement for illustration their playgrounds,” said Sarah Martin, a gender equality master who has consulted for respective United Nations agencies. “There are truthful galore complaints that don’t moreover get investigated because there’s a cognition that elder officials protect each other.”

People adjacent to Khan’s accuser opportunity investigators from nan court’s watchdog — known arsenic nan Independent Oversight Mechanism — showed up for an question and reply astatine her location connected a Sunday and asked for friendly specifications astir her narration pinch Khan arsenic her kid listened. Without immoderate affectional support and wary of nan process, she decided not to record a title astatine that moment.

In nan weeks since, she’s decided to spell up nan concatenation of command, reaching retired to nan Assembly of States Parties to nan Rome Statute, which oversees nan tribunal and has nan eventual opportunity astir Khan’s future.

Paivi Kaukoranta, a Finnish diplomat presently serving arsenic president of that body, did not remark specifically erstwhile asked if it had initiated a caller investigation.

But successful a statement she asked group to respect nan integrity and confidentiality of nan process, “including immoderate further imaginable steps arsenic necessary.”