politics
US sanctions international criminal court president and prosecutor
Marco Rubio targets ICC’s Tomoko Akane and Abdoulaye Seye, who was investigating Israeli war crimes in Gaza
TL;DR
- The US has sanctioned Tomoko Akane, president of the ICC, and Abdoulaye Seye, a senior trial lawyer.
- The sanctions are due to their involvement in ICC investigations, including those concerning alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza.
- The US stated its goal is to disable the ICC's ability to operate and threaten American sovereignty.
- Marco Rubio called for ICC member countries to withdraw from the body.
- Previous sanctions were placed on ICC prosecutor Karim Khan for seeking arrest warrants for Israeli officials.
- Neither the US nor Israel are member states of the ICC.
- Human rights groups have sued the US, claiming sanctions prevent victims of war crimes from seeking justice.