The administration of US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions against four judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in response to an investigation into alleged crimes committed by the US military in Afghanistan and the Israeli government in Gaza. About this informs Reuters.
Judges representing Uganda, Peru, Benin and Slovenia were added to the US sanctions list.
“As ICC judges, these four individuals actively participated in illegal and unjustified ICC actions directed against America or our close ally, Israel. The ICC is politicized and falsely claims to have unlimited discretion to investigate, indict, and prosecute citizens of the United States and our allies.”, – said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
In his statement, Rubio referenced an ICC investigation launched in 2020 into alleged war crimes by the US military in Afghanistan, as well as a warrant issued in 2024 for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for possible crimes in Gaza.
The sanctions provide for strict restrictions that make it difficult even for ordinary financial transactions for the persons affected by the restrictions, since all banks that cooperate with the US or carry out transactions in dollars are obliged to comply with them.
The International Criminal Court sharply criticized this move, seeing it as an attempt to undermine the independence of the judicial institution, which, according to ICC representatives, “provides hope and justice to millions of victims of unimaginable atrocities.”
