WSJ: Sexual Harassment Claim of ICC Chief Demands Probe

The International Criminal Court must investigate its prosecutor after a sexual harassment claim against Karim Ahmad Khan has raised questions as to whether he issued arrest warrants for Israeli leaders as a way to save his job, the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board wrote.

The timing of Khan's flip-flop to issue warrants against Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is dubious, the WSJ wrote in its Wednesday editorial.

"What accounted for the sudden change of course? A new theory is that Mr. Khan was trying to save his job after being confronted with sexual-harassment allegations a few weeks earlier," wrote the Journal.

Khan, who assured U.S. senators there would be no rush to judgment against Israel, had set preliminary meetings in Israel for May 20. But in the aftermath of a whistleblower's report to the ICC's Independent Oversight Mechanism (IOM) on the harassment allegations, Khan instead announced plans to issue arrest warrants on May 20.

"Israel-bashing is a reliable way to divert attention and pressure. For Mr. Khan it brought acclaim from the left, which dominates international legal circles," the Journal wrote.

Further, the whistleblower reported enduring "threats about his family from Mr. Khan's wife and pressure from Mr. Khan himself, including instructions to leave the country by traveling immediately to Uganda," the WSJ wrote.

And, the ICC kept quiet the allegations of repeated sexual harassment against the junior staffer who worked for Khan, which allegedly happened in April, the WSJ wrote. But an anonymous account on the social media platform X brought the allegations to light last week.

Further, in its annual report on Oct. 18, the ICC lists the allegation — without naming Khan — as its last item, saying, "the alleged victim 'declined to pursue a formal complaint with the IOM.'" It went on, "Accordingly, the IOM determined that no investigation was necessary at this stage."

"A nondenial means no investigation? It sounds like the victim refused to disown the allegation, even as she may have feared retaliation if she moved forward with it," the Journal wrote.

"All of this cries out for investigation. If the whistleblower is correct, it would throw into question Mr. Khan's probity, the ICC's commitment to fair process, and whether nonprofessional factors were considered in requesting the arrest warrants. This places the court's targeting of Israel under a cloud," the Journal concluded.