Associated PressTEL AVIV – The British prosecutor is under fire on several counts. For example, he is said to have been advised by pro-Palestinian activists in the prosecution and, a day before announcing his intention to prosecute Netanyahu and Gallant, he cancelled a visit to Israel, which he himself said was of great importance for a possible prosecution.
He is expected to meet with the prime minister. Earlier this year, Khan visited Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former Al-Qaeda leader responsible for numerous crimes, in Damascus to discuss how members of the previous regime could be prosecuted.
Accusation of sexual assault
The allegation of sexual violence has been known for some time and UN officials are investigating it. The alleged victim now turns out to be a Malaysian lawyer who, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal, has stated that she was sexually harassed by Khan for months.
He also allegedly raped her several times, according to the account of the testimony quoted by the American newspaper. “She said she tried to leave the room several times, but he grabbed her hand and eventually pulled her to the bed. He then took off her pants and forced her to have sexual intercourse.”
Khan allegedly committed “non-consensual sexual acts” over a period of several months and across several continents, according to the assistant’s testimony, including in The Hague, where Khan has been a prosecutor at the ICC since 2021.
Arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant
The Briton’s lawyers deny the allegations and deny any connection with the arrest warrants against Israeli politicians.However, the judges are not at all pleased with Khan’s actions, who is said to be under heavy pressure from pro-Palestinian member states of the ICC. They are said to be angry with him because he unnecessarily put the court in the international spotlight by making public his intention to issue arrest warrants at an early stage. The judges have ordered him not to do so in the future, as Khan is brooding over more charges against Israelis.
Israel, which does not recognize the ICC, is currently under heavy fire for not allowing aid into the Gaza Strip for more than two months. The use of “hunger as a weapon of war” is the main basis for the charges against Netanyahu and Gallant, who are in principle no longer allowed to travel to the court’s member states, which are in principle obliged to arrest him.
However, Netanyahu recently traveled to Hungary, which announced during his visit that it would withdraw from the ICC. The German government has also announced that it will not arrest the Israeli prime minister during a visit. The United States, which is not part of the ICC, is taking it a step further. They announced sanctions against Khan, among others, who is no longer welcome in the US. Any funds of the prosecutor in America will also be frozen.
Ex-Mossad director Yossi Cohen
Khan believes he is the target of a smear campaign to undermine the ICC’s work. His predecessor accused then-Mossad director Yossi Cohen of threatening him not to open an investigation into possible Israeli war crimes. There is no evidence that Israel is involved in the allegations against Khan.The alleged victim initially refused to report the sexual assault, partly because she feared it would affect the arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant.Khan, a father of two whose wife is also a lawyer from Malaysia, is also said to have pressured her. In a phone call with the woman, he is said to have warned her that there would be three victims if she came forward: “You and your family, me and my family, and justice for the victims.”
Lawsuits against Israel
Khan is also said to have taken revenge on staff members who had passed on the allegations or who had criticised his actions. According to various sources, he is said to have demoted at least four staff members.Israel’s largest newspaper recently revealed that he had hired a law firm that is heavily involved in lawsuits against Israel. Some of the firm’s employees have connections to dubious Palestinian clubs, including one that Israel considers a terrorist organization.The firm, Bindmans, is also said to have ties to Khan’s brother Imran, a former British MP who was sentenced to 18 months in prison a few years ago for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy. He was released after nine months.
Contributed: AFP
Johanna Liander
Sophie Rosemont
Alexis Parker
Amandine Lhoste