The chief prosecutor of the international criminal court has secured arrest warrants in its most politically charged cases just as the judicial body grapples with an unprecedented crisis.
Karim Khan, whose request for warrants against Israeli and Hamas leaders was granted on Thursday, is facing allegations of sexual misconduct, which will be examined by external investigators.
The inquiry, which is understood to be in its early stages, will focus on claims about Khan’s alleged conduct towards a woman who worked directly for him. In October, the Guardian reported that the allegations included claims of unwanted sexual touching and “abuse” over an extended period, as well as of coercive behaviour and abuse of authority.
Lawyers for Khan, 54, have said he “denies the whole of the allegations”. The alleged victim, a lawyer in her 30s who worked for Khan, has previously declined to comment.
Last week the ICC’s governing body referred the allegations to a UN oversight watchdog, the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), despite concerns raised at the highest levels of the court about Khan’s ties to the body. Khan and the alleged victim are expected to be interviewed in the coming weeks.
The public emergence of the allegations last month came at an acutely sensitive moment for the ICC, and court officials said they exposed the court to attacks by those seeking to undermine its Palestine investigation.
Internally, Khan has faced a backlash from many of his own staff in recent weeks over his decision to ignore advice from some of his most senior officials that he should take a leave of absence until the inquiry is resolved.
Attempts by Khan and his representatives to suggest the allegations may be part of a smear campaign against him are understood to have caused considerable disquiet in the chief prosecutor’s office, which has about 450 staff.
In his response to the claims, Khan has suggested the sexual misconduct allegations may be part of a campaign against him, publicly referring to “a wide range of attacks and threats” against the court.
However, as the Guardian reported last week, five ICC sources familiar with the situation said that while Israel or its allies may be attempting to take advantage of the allegations, many within Khan’s top team did not believe they had been invented by external actors hostile to the court.
Officials close to Khan concluded earlier this year that it was highly unlikely the allegations were part of an espionage operation and no evidence or intelligence has emerged of any involvement of an intelligence agency, such as Israel’s the Mossad.
After the allegations first emerged internally at the ICC in May, Khan and another official close to him are said to have urged the woman to disavow claims about his behaviour towards her, multiple officials told the Guardian last month. Khan denies this.
ICC sources said the alleged victim had told court authorities she would cooperate with an independent external inquiry. Multiple individuals who know the woman said recent efforts to politicise the situation had been deeply distressing for her.
