THE HAGUE, July 18 — A Malaysian lawyer who accused International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor Karim Khan of sexual misconduct has spoken publicly for the first time, rejecting suggestions that her allegations formed part of a politically motivated effort to undermine the British barrister ahead of a vote that could remove him from office.

Sarah’s appearance was her first public account of allegations that have dominated the ICC for months and triggered an unprecedented disciplinary process against its chief prosecutor. The Guardian first reported the allegations last year.

Sarah, 39, served as Khan’s direct special assistant between 2023 and 2024 after several years working at the ICC. 

Speaking to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Thursday, she described what she said was a gradual escalation in Khan’s conduct, beginning with emotional boundary-testing before becoming physical.

His behaviour, she said, involved “an escalation of attempts” and was “kind of like encroachments on the boundaries slowly – not just physically, but emotionally as well”.

She alleged that during an official trip to Colombia, Khan entered her hotel room while she pretended to be asleep.

“He started to put his hand down my leggings, to grope me, to put his tongue in my ear,” she said.

Khan, who was elected in 2021 to a nine-year term as the ICC’s chief prosecutor, has denied the allegations.

She also dismissed suggestions that she had been used by political interests seeking to damage Khan over his handling of high-profile ICC investigations.

“If ever there was even a hint of suspicion that I was a state agent of any kind, I would have been dismissed,” said Sarah, who remains an ICC employee.

“My complaint was because of what happened to me, not for any other reason.”

The Guardian reported that documents it had reviewed showed investigators found no evidence supporting claims that Sarah was acting on behalf of third parties or intelligence agencies.

A second woman, identified by the pseudonym Patricia, also appeared in the CNN interview. She first shared her allegations with The Guardian last year, alleging that Khan repeatedly groped and sexually harassed her while she worked for him as an intern in 2009.

One of Khan’s lawyers, Sareta Ashraph, said the allegations were not new and that Khan continued to deny them “in their entirety”.

“The complete evidential picture paints a far different picture than there’s been presented here today,” Ashraph told CNN.

She also questioned the timing of the interviews, saying: “This foray into the media comes a week before the vote on July 24.”

“The evidence that has been presented, the testimony presented is already before the states along with a huge amount of other relevant information that has not been presented on this programme [CNN],” she added.

The interviews came days before the ICC’s 125 member states are due to meet at the United Nations headquarters in New York to vote on whether Khan should remain in office.

Last month, the executive committee of the ICC’s governing body suspended Khan after concluding he had committed serious misconduct in connection with Sarah’s allegations and referred the matter to member states to decide his future.

Khan’s legal team has maintained that the disciplinary proceedings are politically motivated and “procedurally unfair”, and he continues to deny all allegations against him. - malaymail