ICC prosecutor Khan loses appeals on UK legal bar suspension

Khan was suspended on June 8 by the ICC’s governing body, deepening a leadership crisis at the court, which is also facing U.S. sanctions.

By JNS

International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan lost an appeal to lift his suspension as a barrister, Britain’s legal regulator said on Tuesday, as misconduct allegations against him continue to roil the court, Reuters reported.

The Bar Standards Board said Khan, 56, remains suspended from legal practice pending the outcome of disciplinary proceedings. Khan has denied the sexual misconduct allegations.

Khan was suspended on June 8 by the ICC’s governing body, deepening a leadership crisis at the court, which is also facing U.S. sanctions tied to investigations involving the United States and Israel.

At Khan’s behest, the ICC in November 2024 issued arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes committed in the Gaza war following the Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Reacting to Khan’s ICC suspension, Netanyahu took to social media to accuse the court of being corrupt and said the war crimes allegations against Israel were fabricated to deflect attention from the accusations against Khan.

“Want to divert attention from sex crime accusations? Just make up war crime accusations against Israel! Classic. The ICC is corrupt to the core,” the premier wrote on X.