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Rubio sanctions ICC judges
The United States imposed new sanctions on two ICC judges investigating Israel, targeting Gocha Lordkipanidze and Erdenebalsuren Damdin, with Washington saying the ICC backed an investigation into alleged war crimes in Gaza.
“The United States on Monday announced a sweeping campaign against the International Criminal Court (ICC) that could include further sanctions and other measures, accusing it of posing "an intolerable threat to US sovereignty”
France 24 reported that the ICC immediately condemned the move as a "flagrant breach of its independence," while the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the sanctions were justified because the judges had voted with the Court's majority to reject an Israeli appeal aimed at ending an investigation into war crimes in Gaza.
The sanctions bar the judges from entering the United States and block any real estate or financial transactions with them, according to France 24.
The ICC, headquartered in The Hague, had issued arrest warrants in November 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and the U.S. said it would continue to impose "consequences" for what it calls an "abuse of power by the ICC."
Israel welcomes, ICC rejects
In Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Washington's "strong action," and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar thanked Marco Rubio on X for "this clear moral stance" by the United States.
At the same time, the ICC said it "firmly rejects the new U.S. sanctions" and warned they "constitute a flagrant breach of the independence" of an impartial judicial institution.
RTVE.es added that Rubio said the CPI has persisted in actions politizadas against Israel and that "No toleraremos los abusos de poder de la CPI" that violate the sovereignty of the United States and Israel.
RTVE.es also reported that the CPI warned the new round of sanctions is "un ataque flagrante contra la independencia" and promised to continue working "con independencia e imparcialidad."
Wider campaign and stakes
Beyond the sanctions on two judges, the France 24 report said the measures follow those already imposed on nine ICC judges and prosecutors as President Donald Trump launched a sweeping campaign against the Court.
Amnesty International framed the broader stakes by saying the decree signed by Donald Trump on February 6, 2025 aims to prevent the ICC from carrying out its independent mandate and calls it "a substantial threat to the ICC and its personnel."
Amnesty International said the sanctions include freezing all assets located in the United States and the entry ban into the United States for the sanctioned person and their family members, and it described the ICC as a "court of last resort" that must function without interference or political coercion.
The Amnesty International account also linked the sanctions to the ICC’s efforts to hold Israeli nationals to account after the Court issued arrest warrants in November 2024 for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, and it warned that sanctions deter individuals and companies from working with and cooperating with the Court and its representatives.
