International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor Karim Khan will know his fate on Friday when member states vote on whether to terminate his tenure.
This follows allegations of sexual misconduct brought against him by a Malaysian lawyer, known publicly only as Sarah.
Khan (above), 56, denies any wrongdoing.
The controversy comes just a week after Washington announced a renewed diplomatic campaign to dismantle the ICC, which it says is a threat to US sovereignty.
"The court is already in a precarious state," Mark Ellis, the executive director of the International Bar Association and a longtime ICC observer, told Reuters.
"The Khan situation is a separate but very significant part of the overall perception of the court’s credibility," he added.
Khan’s tenure as chief prosecutor hangs in the balance after documents seen by Reuters indicated that officials overseeing the court believe he should be dismissed.
Any decision to remove him would require the backing of at least 63 of the ICC’s 125 member states, with the outcome to be decided through a secret ballot at a meeting held at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
‘No sexual relationship’
Khan’s legal team has rejected the allegations against him, telling Reuters that he had “no sexual relationship of any kind” with the woman who made the claims.
His lawyers also argued that the process leading up to the vote was flawed, describing it as unlawful, procedurally unfair and lacking evidential basis.
They cited findings by an independent panel of judges, which concluded there was insufficient evidence to prove the allegations beyond reasonable doubt following a UN investigation.
A decision to remove Khan, who hails from the UK, would likely intensify debate over whether political considerations had influenced the ICC’s actions, particularly after he sought arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Israel, which is not a member of the court, has rejected the warrants as baseless.
Should Khan be removed, the ICC would begin the process of selecting a new prosecutor, a process unlikely to conclude until early next year.
Sarah speaks to the press
Sarah, who recently spoke to CNN, is the only Malaysian working at the ICC. Meanwhile, Free Malaysia Today reported that Khan’s wife, Shyamala Alagendra, is also Malaysian and a respected international criminal lawyer.
Born in Kuala Lumpur, Sarah studied law in the United Kingdom before joining the ICC in 2017. She later married a Dutch national and built a career at one of the world’s most prominent legal institutions.
In February 2023, she was appointed Khan’s special assistant, overseeing his travel arrangements, scheduling, briefings and other responsibilities that brought her into close daily contact with the prosecutor.
Sarah alleged that Khan subjected her to escalating sexual misconduct over more than a year, including during official trips and in workplace settings.
She claimed he engaged in unwanted touching, attempted kissing, and other non-consensual sexual acts.
Speaking to CNN, Sarah said the significant power imbalance between them meant genuine consent was impossible.
"There is no way for something to be consensual when you have such a power disparity," she said.
Sarah also denied claims that she was a state agent for Israel, pointing out that she had undergone "the highest level of security clearances" to work for the ICC.
"If ever there was even a hint of suspicion that I was a state agent of any kind, I would have been dismissed," she said. - Mkini
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