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The International Criminal Court has introduced an exterior investigation into accusations of sexual misconduct in opposition to its chief prosecutor.
Karim Khan mentioned he would have interaction within the course of and proceed in his function whereas the investigation was ongoing. He denies the allegations.
The chief prosecutor had requested an investigation by the court docket’s watchdog, however on Monday the ICC’s governing physique mentioned it might pursue an “external investigation”.
The announcement adopted media stories a couple of doc outlining accusations in opposition to Mr Khan, understood to incorporate undesirable sexual touching and “abuse”.
“I welcome the opportunity to engage in this process,” Mr Khan mentioned in an announcement, including he would proceed “all other functions as prosecutor” whereas the investigation is ongoing.
Any points related to the investigation into allegations in opposition to him could be dealt with by deputy prosecutors, he mentioned.
According to the Guardian newspaper, a feminine lawyer who claims to have been subjected to undesirable sexual advances by Mr Khan had raised issues in regards to the competence of the Independent Oversight Mechanism (IOM), the ICC’s watchdog.
The paper additionally reported that Khan responded to a proper sexual misconduct grievance in opposition to him by attempting to influence the alleged sufferer that she ought to deny the claims, regardless of having been suggested to keep away from one-to-one contact.
Mr Khan denied asking the lady to withdraw any allegations, the Guardian reported.
Paivi Kaukoranta, the president of the physique charged with overseeing the court docket, final month mentioned the IOM had been involved with the alleged sufferer, however mentioned it was not ready to proceed with an investigation at that stage.
In an announcement on Monday, she defended the IOM’s means to hold out the investigation however mentioned that “given the particular circumstances,” she didn’t object to “exceptionally resorting to an external investigation”.
“An external investigation is therefore being pursued in order to ensure a fully independent, impartial and fair process,” she mentioned.
It comes amid intense scrutiny of the ICC and Mr Khan after the prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants linked to the battle in Gaza.
In May, Mr Khan mentioned there have been affordable grounds to consider that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-defence minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leaders Yahiya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh bore criminal responsibility for struggle crimes and crimes in opposition to humanity from the day of Hamas’s assault on Israel on 7 October onwards.
Sinwar, Deif and Haniyeh have all since been killed by Israel.
In an earlier assertion, Mr Khan didn’t explicitly blame Israel, however did juxtapose the sexual misconduct allegations and efforts to undermine his place when he described this as “a moment in which myself and the International Criminal Court are subject to a wide range of attacks and threat”.
But the sexual misconduct allegations are understood to pre-date his request for arrest warrants linked to the battle in Gaza.
A panel of three ICC judges is presently contemplating the arrest warrants requested by Mr Khan.
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