US SANCTIONS ICC PRESIDENT AND SENIOR LAWYER

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions against Tomoko Akane, president of the International Criminal Court, and Abdoulaye Seye, an ICC senior trial lawyer, on Tuesday. The Treasury Department designated both officials under the authority to sanction individuals engaged in efforts to investigate, arrest or prosecute officials whose governments have not consented to ICC jurisdiction. Rubio described the ICC as "a corrupt and fatally politicized supranational court that has maliciously abused its authority and exceeded its mandate", and stated the US would "not tolerate its assault on state sovereignty".

The designation marks an escalation of US pressure against the ICC. The Trump administration has previously sanctioned at least 11 ICC officials, including nine judges and chief prosecutor Karim Khan, who secured arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant. Reports indicate Seye oversees investigations into Israeli funding for settlements in the West Bank and weapons distribution to settlers. The State Department has described its objective as to "disable the ICC's ability to operate, target American servicemen or officials, or otherwise threaten American sovereignty".

Rubio has called on the ICC's 125 member countries to withdraw from the body. Neither the full scope of the allegations against Akane and Seye nor responses from the ICC officials have been reported at this stage. The sanctions follow an executive order in which Donald Trump stated the ICC had "engaged in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel".