International Criminal Court Removes Prosecutor Karim Khan

International news

Saturday, 25 July 2026, 8:11 am

Saturday, 25 July 2026, 8:12 am

The International Criminal Court has fired its prosecutor, Karim Khan.

In short:

The International Criminal Court, or ICC, has removed Karim Khan from his job as prosecutor.

Karim Khan was accused of doing something very wrong with a female helper nearly two years ago, which he says is not true.

What happens next?

The ICC will soon choose a new prosecutor.

The International Criminal Court voted to remove its main prosecutor, Karim Khan, almost two years after people first said he did something very wrong.

Karim Khan, a lawyer from Britain, was accused of doing something very wrong with a female helper, which he strongly denies.

At a special meeting at the United Nations in New York, the ICC's 125 member countries voted to remove Karim Khan from his job, which has never happened before to a main prosecutor.

The ICC's main prosecutor, Karim Khan, was suspended while the member countries decided what to do with him.

The group that watches over the ICC said Karim Khan did 'very bad things and broke the rules', according to Päivi Kaukoranta, the group's president.

Karim Khan was temporarily removed from his job in June, before the vote, because a report said he did 'very bad things'.

Documents show Karim Khan had a relationship with the woman and tried to stop her from talking about what happened.

Karim Khan, who was chosen to be the ICC's prosecutor in 2021 for nine years, does not agree with these findings.

Challenges for the ICC

Early in the meeting, a proposal from Sierra Leone that would have made it harder to remove Karim Khan failed, and diplomats quickly moved to vote on removing him, several hours earlier than planned.

This long and complicated process has caused problems between human rights supporters, staff, and member countries at a time when the ICC is already facing big challenges, including a campaign by the US to 'dismantle' the ICC.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US will start a big campaign to stop the ICC from being a threat to US power.

Rubio said he will pressure member countries to leave the ICC, punish groups that work with the court, and ban ICC staff from traveling to the US.

One of America's presidential candidates is known for attacking prosecutors and courts, and not respecting their independence.

Countries that are protected by the US will be asked to reject the ICC's power over US citizens.

Venezuela said it will leave the ICC just hours after the vote.

Venezuela's Foreign Minister, Félix Plasencia, said the ICC's actions show it is biased against African and Latin American countries.

Karim Khan's removal will not immediately affect the arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu.

Earlier this year, ICC prosecutors stopped investigating whether US sanctions against Venezuela were crimes against humanity because they did not find enough evidence.

The ICC will continue to investigate possible crimes by Venezuelan security forces under former President Nicolás Maduro.

The US has already punished Karim Khan and other ICC staff because the court issued warrants for top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, said Karim Khan was wrong to think that by going after Israel, the world would forget about the allegations against him.

The allegations against Karim Khan are connected to the ICC's investigation into the war in Gaza.

A researcher at Utrecht University said the ICC's investigation into Israel is the first time a prosecutor has gone after a Western ally.

The ICC's arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu will affect Israel's allies, who must now decide if their support for Israel is more important than their support for international institutions.

Karim Khan's removal will not immediately affect the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

The ICC will soon choose a new prosecutor.

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