The Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has voted to remove prosecutor Karim Khan over sexual misconduct allegations, his legal team has confirmed, suggesting that the move was “political”.

The vote on Friday came as the ICC faces backlash from the United States and Israel after Khan issued arrest warrants  for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his then-Defence Minister Yoav Gallant in 2024.

Tayab Ali, head of Khan’s legal team, noted that a judicial panel had “unanimously” determined that findings by the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services “did not establish misconduct or breach of duty by Mr Khan under the relevant legal framework”.

The administration of President Donald Trump had imposed sanctions on Khan and several other ICC officials and judges over the Netanyahu warrant.

“The decision has grave implications beyond Mr Khan’s individual case,” said Ali.

“The independence of the International Criminal Court depends upon its elected officials being protected from removal through processes that are political, procedurally unfair or inconsistent with the findings of independent judicial bodies.”

The lawyer added that Khan was removed “by an executive vote while under sanctions and while the Court is under immense political pressure”.

Ali added that the decision by the Assembly of States Parties “does not follow the evidence or the findings of the only judicial determination in this matter”.

Member states approved Khan’s dismissal almost two years after the allegations first surfaced. The 56-year-old British barrister had already stepped aside in June after an oversight panel concluded he had committed “serious misconduct”.

The ICC said on Friday that Khan’s office will now be headed by deputy prosecutors Nazhat Shameen Khan and Mame Mandiaye Niang.

“Mr Khan’s removal was determined by a process in which he was never given a fair opportunity to be heard, and in defiance of the conclusions of the independent judges who examined the full evidential record,” Ali said.

Khan’s accuser, named only ⁠as Sarah, recently told CNN that Khan had shown escalating behaviour of touching and groping her, recounting a time she said he touched her intimately while she was pretending to be asleep.

Khan has denied any wrongdoing and his lawyers have called the process that led to the vote procedurally unfair and unsupported by evidence.

Khan was leading probes into multiple conflicts, but his decision in 2024 to seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant over war crime charges in Gaza prompted an intense backlash from governments and advocacy groups.

Former European Union chief diplomat Josep Borrell wrote in an editorial that the case against Khan is “obviously part of a larger offensive against the ICC”.

Khan’s dismissal immediately triggers the election process for a new ICC prosecutor, although a vote is not expected before next ‌year.

(Aljazeera)