The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court will temporarily step down pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct, the court announced Friday.
Karim Khan has categorically denied accusations that he tried for more than a year to coerce a female aide into a sexual relationship and groped her against her will.
Last year, an Associated Press investigation found that two court employees in whom the alleged victim confided came forward with the accusation in May. That was a few weeks before Khan sought arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, his defense minister and three Hamas leaders on war crimes charges.
The court said in a statement that Khan on Friday ″communicated his decision to take leave until the end″ of an external investigation being carried by the Office of Internal Oversight Services, the U.N. internal watchdog.
While Khan is on leave, the court’s deputy prosecutors will be in charge of managing the prosecutor’s office, the statement said.
