‘Nothing works anymore’ – ICC judge behind Netanyahu warrants blasts US sanctions

International Criminal Court judge sanctioned by the US last year says he has lost his credit card and been blocked from using basic services and online retailers.

By World Israel News Staff

A French jurist serving as a judge on the International Criminal Court blasted the Trump administration over the weekend over American sanctions imposed on senior ICC officials, accusing the US of ignoring calls by the French government to lift the sanctions.

On Sunday, Nicolas Guillou, an ICC judge who signed off on arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in November 2024, spoke with France TV about the impact the sanctions have had on his life.

Guillou lamented that he is unable to use his credit cards or to shop through major online retailers, such as Amazon.

The sanctions have even prevented him from booking rides through apps such as Uber or renting accommodations via Airbnb, Expedia, and Booking.com.

“We are going 30 years back in time,” he said. “It’s like a time machine returning us to a pre-digital world.”

Guillou said that French President Emmanuel Macron has written seven letters to the Trump administration requesting that the sanctions against the French jurist be dropped.

The US expanded its blacklist of ICC officials last August, after sanctioning ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan. The sanctions currently target six ICC judges and three ICC prosecutors.

Guillou claimed that the sanctions violate international law and argued that they would have a chilling effect on the court, discouraging prosecutors and judges from pursuing cases out of fear that they could be targeted by sanctions in the future.

“If prosecutors are afraid to prosecute, if lawyers are afraid to defend, if judges are afraid to judge, if parliamentarians are afraid to pass laws, and if ministers are afraid to enforce them, there is no more democracy,” Guillou said.