United Nations (United States) (AFP) – The International Criminal Court’s 125 member states will convene Friday to determine the fate of prosecutor Karim Khan, who was suspended over allegations of sexual assault against a member of his staff – accusations he firmly denies.
In May 2025, Khan had stepped back from his duties to fight the allegations made by one of his female colleagues, after an inquiry was launched the previous year.
The 56-year-old Briton was then suspended last month by a key governing body of the ICC, the 21-member bureau of the Assembly of State Parties (ASP), which called Friday’s meeting at UN headquarters in New York.
At that time, the bureau said the suspension was “not an indication of the final outcome” in the matter.
The decision on whether to relieve Khan of his duties is now subject to a secret ballot by the 125 countries party to the International Criminal Court during a closed-door session. An absolute majority carries the vote.
The alleged victim, a Malaysian lawyer who worked as Khan’s direct assistant, has offered her account of what happened for the first time, in an interview last week with CNN.
The woman, who asked to be identified by her first name Sarah, described “an escalation of attempts” that resulted in physical assault.
“There is no way for something to be consensual when you have such a power disparity,” she told CNN. “What I think many people don’t understand is that Mr. Khan was not just my boss, he was everyone’s boss.”
Khan, who has been in the job since 2021, categorically denies the accusations.
In an open letter published this week on X, his attorneys called on ICC member states not to remove Khan from his position, saying the procedures in place allowing Khan to defend himself had not been respected.
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