Russia sentences ICC prosecutor Karim Khan and judges to 15 years
Russia’s judicial system has sentenced the chief prosecutor and eight judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to lengthy prison terms in absentia.
The sentences, which include up to 15 years, are an act of direct retaliation for the "illegal arrest warrants" the ICC issued against Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin.
"ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan illegally initiated proceedings against Russian citizens in The Hague," a Moscow court declared in its December 12 decision. The court specified that Khan had "instructed the court's judges to issue illegal arrest warrants."
The ICC’s chief prosecutor received a 15-year sentence in absentia. Eight Court members, including former ICC President Piotr Hofmanski, were given terms ranging from three and a half years to 15 years.
The action follows the ICC's 2023 warrant for President Putin concerning the alleged war crime of "illegal deportation of children" during the invasion of Ukraine.
In the subsequent year, the ICC also issued warrants for the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, and the former Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu (who served until May 2024), on charges of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
This latest move by Russian justice is part of an ongoing, escalating countermeasure that has already seen Russia issue its own arrest warrants for high-ranking ICC officials.
The ICC, based in The Hague, has jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression.
The Court has recently been at the center of other high-stakes political battles, having also issued arrest warrants for three high-ranking officials of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant.
The United States, which, like Russia and Israel, is not an ICC member, subsequently imposed sanctions against Khan and the Court’s judges following the warrant issued against Netanyahu.
The ICC’s prosecutor, Karim Khan, temporarily stepped down in May due to an internal investigation into "alleged misconduct" involving sexual abuse allegations, which he denies.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
