Former prosecutor calls for EU statute blocking US sanctions on ICC members

Source: The Guardian

Sun 24 May 2026 00.00 EDT
Last modified on Sun 24 May 2026 00.01 EDT


A former prosecutor at the international criminal court has called for an EU-wide statute blocking what she describes as “thuggish” and “bullying” US sanctions imposed on members of the court that are designed to send the court into oblivion.

In February 2025, the US imposed sanctions on 11 ICC officials, including nine judges and the chief prosecutor as well three Palestinian organisations, in response to the ICC decision in 2024 to issue arrest warrants for members of the Israeli cabinet, including the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. The US sanctions – which include travel bans and asset freezes – have locked judges out of the European financial system, making it impossible for them or their families to live normal lives.

Fatou Bensouda, ICC prosecutor from 2012 to 2021, told a meeting in The Hague of the Rights Forum, a prominent Dutch non-governmental organisation: “These are coercive attempts to interfere with the independent exercise of judicial and prosecutorial functions established under international law. If the international community does not respond with seriousness, institutional resolve and practical solidarity, the consequences will extend far beyond The Hague.”

Without naming the US, she said: “To deploy such instruments against prosecutors, judges or court officials who are engaged in judicial functions in the pursuit of accountability for the most egregious crimes represents a profound conceptual distortion.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/law/2026/may/24/former-international-criminal-court-prosecutor-calls-for-eu-statute-blocking-us-sanctions-on-icc-members