Marco Rubio Sanctions ICC Judges Kimberly Prost and Nicolas Guillou, Freezes Assets

The U.S. announced new sanctions targeting two ICC judges—a French judge and a Canadian judge—as well as two prosecutors at the International Criminal Court, and the ICC described the move as a "flagrant attack on the independence of the institution."

In a statement, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, "Today, I designate Kimberly Prost of Canada, Nicolas Guillou of France, Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji and Mame Mandiaye Niang of Senegal," for having "directly participated in the efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel, without the consent of either of those countries."

Al Jazeera

The RFI account says the measures include a ban on entry into the United States and the freezing of any assets those individuals may hold in the United States, as well as any financial transactions with them.

Israel welcomed the announcement, with Netanyahu saying, "I congratulate Marco Rubio, the United States Secretary of State, for deciding to impose sanctions on the judges of the International Criminal Court in The Hague," while France expressed consternation and called on Washington to withdraw the sanctions.

Le Monde diplomatique frames the Gaza war as a test of accountability, asking "Who will punish Israel, or at least its leaders, for the destruction of Gaza and the death of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians?"

The same article says the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant on November 21, 2024 against Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Galant for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Associated Press News

It also argues that the U.S. has not been willing to constrain Netanyahu, pointing to his presence at President Donald Trump’s New Year’s Eve party at his Mar-a-Lago residence.

In parallel, France 24 says the Israeli military campaign has killed more than 55,000 people, according to local health authorities, and describes the conflict as having "killed more than 55,000 people" while rendering Gaza "almost uninhabitable."

France 24 adds that the conflict has accelerated "the erosion of the rules-based international order established after World War II," quoting Karim Émile Bitar and Karim Émile Bitar’s warning that the message is that force can violate rules "without ever being held to account."

Mondoweiss reports that on June 8 the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties of the ICC announced a decision to suspend Chief ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan and refer him to a special Session for disciplinary proceedings.

“Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that any new attack the U”

Babnet

It says Khan was accused in May of 2024 by a third party of workplace sexual misconduct and that the Court’s independent Oversight Mechanism considered and closed the case due to lack of evidence and the absence of a complainant or cooperation from any alleged victim.

Mondoweiss further states that the Judicial Panel then issued a decision in March of this year, unanimously concluding that the facts "did not establish misconduct or breach of duty under the relevant legal framework."

In Babnet’s account of the wider regional conflict, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, "We have grown accustomed to threats," and argued that "there is no military solution to the issues related to Iran."

Babnet also says that after the United States and Israel began attacking Iranian territory on February 28, Washington and Tehran announced a ceasefire on April 8, and that "Nevertheless, the United States began a blockade of Iranian ports."