The Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties to the International Criminal Court (ICC) has removed from office the prosecutor Karim Khan, accused of sexual harassment, the organization announced.
“At its meeting on 8 June 2026, the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) decided by a qualified majority to remove the prosecutor from office“, the statement said.
It is also specified that the decision is not final. The Assembly will soon hold a special session to resolve the matter.
In May 2025, the ICC announced that Khan had been placed on administrative leave pending the conclusion of an investigation into him for alleged sexual harassment of his subordinates. In late August of that year, the British newspaper The Guardian reported on a second indictment for the same crime.
In 2023, as part of a criminal investigation, Khan filed a request with the ICC requesting the issuance of arrest warrants for Russian citizens. Based on the request, the court's judges issued illegal arrest warrants for President Vladimir Putin and Children's Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova.
In December 2025, the Moscow City Court sentenced Khan in absentia to 15 years in prison. The Investigative Committee found that he "deliberately persecuted an innocent person, illegally accused a person of committing a grave or especially grave crime, and also prepared an attack against a representative of a foreign state enjoying international protection, with the aim of complicating international relations".