International Criminal Court chiefs on Thursday hit out at an American government decision to impose sanctions on four more of its top staff, including a French and a Canadian judge over their involvement in cases against Israeli politicians and US military operations in Afghanistan.
Frenchman Nicolas Guillou has been presiding over a case in which an arrest warrant was issued for the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Canadian judge, Kimberly Prost, was involved in a case that authorised an investigation into alleged crimes committed during the war in Afghanistan, including by United States forces.
Deputy prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan from Fiji and deputy prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang from Senegal were also placed on the list banning them from travelling to the US and blocking their access to property.
"These sanctions are a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution which operates under the mandate from 125 States Parties from all regions," said the International Criminal Court (ICC) in a statement.
"They constitute also an affront against the court’s States Parties, the rules-based international order and, above all, millions of innocent victims across the world."
French officials expressed dismay at the US State Department's move.
A foreign ministry spokesman said the sanctions were in contradiction to the principle of an independent judiciary.
In June four judges from Benin, Uganda, Peru and Slovenia were hit with sanctions.
"As stated before by the ICC president and judiciary ... the court stands firmly behind its personnel and victims of unimaginable atrocities. The ICC will continue fulfilling its mandate, undeterred, in strict accordance with its legal framework as adopted by the States Parties and without regard to any restriction, pressure or threat."
The ICC was set up in 2002 in the Dutch capital The Hague to try individuals for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and aggression.
"The ICC is a national security threat that has been an instrument for "lawfare" against the United States and our close ally Israel," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement, using the "lawfare" term popular with President Donald Trump's supporters.
Rubio said that the four recent targets had sought to investigate or prosecute nationals from the US or Israel without the consent of either nation.
The State Department said the US was punishing Niang and Khan for supporting "illegitimate ICC actions against Israel," including their support of the arrest warrants against Netanyahu and the Israeli former defence minister Yoav Gallant.
"I congratulate Marco Rubio who decided to impose sanctions on the judges of the International Criminal Court," Netanyahu's office said in a statement.
"This is a decisive act against a smear campaign of lies against the State of Israel and the [Israeli army]," added the prime minister, who has been the subject of an ICC arrest warrant since November 2024 for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Court of last resort
Under the sanctions, the US will bar entry of the ICC judges to the US and block any property they have in the country – measures more often taken against adversaries of the US than individuals from close allies.
International ire over Trump sanctions against ICC
The Trump administration has rejected the authority of the court, which is backed by almost all European governments.
Last Friday, Trump welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin to Alaska even though Putin faces an ICC arrest warrant, a factor that has stopped him from travelling more widely since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine three years ago.
(With newswires)
