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Casablanca – The International Criminal Court (ICC) has sharply criticized new US sanctions targeting four of its judges and prosecutors, calling the move “a flagrant attack” on its independence and impartiality.
On Wednesday, the US State Department announced sanctions on Canadian Judge Kimberly Prost, French Judge Nicolas Guillou, and Deputy Prosecutors Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji and Mame Mandiaye Niang of Senegal.
According to Washington, these officials were instrumental in efforts to investigate or prosecute US and Israeli nationals, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, for war crimes.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio framed the ICC as a “national security threat” and accused the court of being “an instrument of lawfare” against the US and Israel.
Rubio also described the sanctioned officials as having “directly engaged in efforts by the International Criminal Court to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel, without the consent of either nation.”
The sanctions freeze any assets the officials hold in US jurisdictions and bar them from accessing US-based property or interests.
Israel welcomed the sanctions, with Netanyahu calling the decision a “firm measure against the mendacious smear campaign” against his country and the military.
The ICC, however, denounced the move. In a statement posted on its official website, the court said the sanctions “constitute a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution” and “an affront against the Court’s State Parties, the rules-based international order and, above all, millions of innocent victims around the world.”
The court has pledged to carry on its work “undeterred,” insisting that its mandate is carried out in the interest of victims of international crimes, not in service of any political agenda.
Read also: Trump Imposes Sanctions on International Criminal Court Over Israel Investigation
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