09 February 2025
(UN photo/L. Felipe)
The International Criminal Court prosecutor Kareem Khan, who issued the arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin, became the first person to be subjected to economic and visa sanctions imposed by US President Donald Trump against the ICC.
According to Reuters , citing its own sources, the name of Kareem Khan, who is British, is listed in an unreleased annex to the executive order signed by Trump. The sanctions include a freeze on U.S. assets for those on the list, as well as visa restrictions for ICC officials and their families.
On March 1, 2022, Kareem Khan, as ChiefProsecutor of the International Criminal Court, announced the launch of an investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Russia in Ukraine. And in March 2023, he issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Levova-Belova. They are suspected of a war crime - illegal deportation of the population, including children. After that, they have the official status of suspects and must be arrested when traveling abroad.
According to the document, within 60 days, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in consultation with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, will have to submit a report with a list of sanctioned persons. In turn, the ICC reacted to the US sanctions against its staff and stated that this would prevent independent and impartial work. At the same time, the court "firmly supports its staff".
According to the agreement between the UN and Washington, Kareem Khan should be able to regularly travel to New York to inform the UN Security Council about the cases she has referred to the court in The Hague.
The International Office for the Investigation of the Russian Federation' s Invasion of Ukraine opened in The Hague on July 3, 2023. The newly created Center will be key to investigating the crime of Russian aggression against Ukraine and will help create cases for future trials.
"It will provide a structure to support and strengthen ongoing and future investigations into the crime of aggression and facilitate the exchange and analysis of evidence collected since the beginning of Russian aggression," the statement said.
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