19 hours ago
The Trump administration imposed sanctions on four Criminal Court judges over their roles in issuing an arrest warrant for Israel's Netanyahu and probing alleged US war crimes in Afghanistan.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
UPDATED: Jun 6, 2025 03:52 IST
In an unprecedented move, President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday imposed sanctions on four judges of the Criminal Court, escalating its battle with the war crimes tribunal over cases involving Israel and the United States.
The retaliation follows the ICC’s issuance of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and its prior decision to investigate alleged war crimes by US troops in Afghanistan.
Washington designated Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda, Luz del Carmen Ibanez Carranza of Peru, Reine Adelaide Sophie Alapini Gansou of Benin, and Beti Hohler of Slovenia, according to a statement from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“As ICC judges, these four individuals have actively engaged in the ICC’s illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America or our close ally, Israel,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
“The ICC is politicized and falsely claims unfettered discretion to investigate, charge, and prosecute nationals of the United States and our allies,” Rubio said. Rubio defended the administration’s move as a necessary stand for national sovereignty: “This dangerous assertion and abuse of power infringes upon the sovereignty and national security of the United States and our allies, including Israel.”
The action builds on Trump’s earlier crackdown on the ICC during his first term when he imposed sanctions over similar probes. President Biden had rescinded those in early 2021, but Trump’s re-election has brought a renewed offensive.
Rubio said the US would continue to take action to protect its and Israel’s interests at the court. “The United States will take whatever actions we deem necessary to protect our sovereignty, that of Israel, and any other US ally from illegitimate actions by the ICC,” he said.
The court swiftly condemned the sanctions. “These measures are a clear attempt to undermine the independence of an international judicial institution,” ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah said.
Thursday’s action follows the earlier US sanctioning of ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan, who had initiated the Netanyahu case but stepped aside in May amid a misconduct investigation. Khan remains on the US list of “Specially Designated s and Blocked Persons,” a designation typically reserved for foreign adversaries.
Neither the US nor Israel is a member of and neither recognizes the legitimacy of the court, which has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu for alleged war crimes over his military response in Gaza after the Hamas attack against Israel in October 2023. Israel strongly denies the allegations.
(With inputs from Associated Press)
Published By:
Aashish Vashistha
Published On:
Jun 6, 2025
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