April 1 (Reuters) – The International Criminal Court’s member states voted on Wednesday to move ahead with disciplinary proceedings against Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan after receiving reports regarding sexual-assault allegations against him, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing officials familiar with the vote.
Khan, who investigates war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, has taken leave of absence pending an inquiry into accusations of non-consensual sexual interaction with a lawyer in his office. He rejects any allegations of wrongdoing.
Reuters could not verify the WSJ report. The ICC did not respond to Reuters’ emailed request for comment. Reuters could not determine contact details for Khan.
The ICC has been thrust into crisis by investigations into Khan – its most prominent official – as well as by sanctions imposed by the U.S. over ICC action including arrest warrants for Israeli officials for alleged war crimes.
A report by United Nations investigators, a summary of which the Journal said it had reviewed, found a “factual basis” for the allegations of sexual misconduct made by a female aide and that witness accounts “lend support to her claims.”
However, a second report by three judges that analyzed the U.N. report found the evidence insufficient to establish the truth of the allegations “beyond a reasonable doubt,” the Journal reported.
Lawyers for Khan told Reuters last week that the judges unanimously concluded that the “factual findings do not establish misconduct or breach of duty.”
A group of African states said that disciplinary proceedings should end as the judges had exonerated him. But other nations, including the court’s biggest backers, voted to continue proceedings, the WSJ reported, citing unidentified officials.
Also, officials from the prosecutor’s office opposed Khan’s continued service as chief prosecutor in a letter read out at Wednesday’s meeting, the Journal reported.
The ICC has 125 member nations and is the world’s criminal court of last resort.
(Reporting by Mrinmay Dey and Chris Thomas in Mexico City; Editing by Neil Fullick and Christopher Cushing)
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