UK legal watchdog upholds suspension of ICC prosecutor Karim Khan

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The British legal watchdog announced on Tuesday that it has upheld a suspension for the International Criminal Court’s embattled chief prosecutor over allegations of sexual misconduct.

The move by the British Standards Board leaves Karim Khan banned from practicing law in his home country as the global court’s oversight body votes later this month on whether to remove him from office.

The 56-year-old is facing allegations of sexual misconduct with a female aide, a scandal that has dragged on for more than two years. He has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing.

In June, the board immediately suspended Khan, a measure adopted “in very serious and urgent cases,” according to the regulator, following a complaint. After a hearing last week, the bar association upheld the suspension while disciplinary proceedings are underway.

Days before the British sanction, the executive committee of the ICC’s oversight body concluded that Khan had committed serious misconduct and recommended that he be removed from office.

A final decision on Khan’s fate is now up to the Assembly of States Parties, the body that oversees the ICC, which will hold a special session on July 24 at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

The allegations against Khan were first reported to the court’s independent watchdog more than two years ago. An Associated Press investigation revealed that Khan was alleged to have seen the woman working in another ICC department and moved her into his office. She later became a regular presence on official trips, according to whistleblower documents.

On one foreign trip, Khan allegedly asked her to rest with him on a hotel bed and then “sexually touched her,” the documents said. Other alleged nonconsensual behavior cited in the documents included locking the door of his office and sticking his hand in her pocket. He also allegedly asked her several times to accompany him on a vacation.

The wrangling over Khan’s position comes as the court faces a new threat from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, which has long criticized the ICC.

On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the United States was launching a “sweeping campaign to dismantle the threat posed by the International Criminal Court to U.S. sovereignty.”

Trump’s administration has brought sanctions against Khan and a dozen other staff in relation to Israeli warrants and investigations into American personnel in Afghanistan.