ICC Judges Sanctioned By Trump Say Credit Cards, Google Accounts Were Cancelled: Report

Last Updated:February 18, 2026, 18:57 IST

Judges targeted over investigations involving the US and Israel say the sanctions disrupted finances and daily life while raising concerns over pressure on the court.

Criminal Court judge Kimberly Prost said she was stunned to find herself on a sanctions list after the administration of US President Donald Trump imposed punitive measures against her, placing her alongside individuals accused of terrorism and organised crime.

Speaking about the move, Prost said the decision felt like a direct attempt to intimidate the court. “These are coercive measures designed to attack our ability to do our jobs objectively and independently. It really was a moment of a bit of disbelief," she told the Guardian.

She added that the fallout was immediate and personal. Her credit cards were cancelled and access to her Amazon and Google accounts was cut off, steps she described as a “direct and flagrant attack" on the court and the broader system of international justice. Prost, who has spent years adjudicating cases involving allegations of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity found herself treated like those she has spent her career judging.

The sanctions stem from an executive order issued last year in which Trump accused the Hague-based court of taking “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel". The order suggested the measures were retaliation for the court’s investigations into alleged crimes involving US and Israeli officials, the newspaper said in its report. Neither the United States nor Israel is among the 125 countries that are signatories to the Rome Statute, the 1998 treaty that established the court.

Since Trump returned to office last year, his administration has steadily escalated pressure on the ICC. So far, 11 officials, including the chief prosecutor and eight judges, have been sanctioned, the Guardian said in its report.

The measures include travel bans to the US and the threat of fines or even prison time for American companies that provide services to those targeted.

The move has drawn international pushback. Seventy-nine countries, among them Canada, Brazil, Denmark, Mexico and Nigeria, issued a joint statement backing the court. They warned that the sanctions “increase the risk of impunity for the most serious crimes and threaten to erode the international rule of law".

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