Karim Khan was removed as the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor on Friday (July 24) after 82 of the court's 125 member states voted to oust him over sexual misconduct allegations — the first time in the ICC's history that a sitting chief prosecutor has been stripped from office.
Khan, who pursued the war-crimes arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that became a flashpoint in both international diplomacy and New York City politics, was dismissed by the Assembly of States Parties following disciplinary proceedings tied to allegations from a junior female staffer. Khan has denied wrongdoing.
The Associated Press reported that the court's oversight body found Khan had committed "serious misconduct," stemming from a female aide's allegations of nonconsensual sexual conduct. The woman, identified only as Sarah, went public in a CNN interview last week. "There is no way for something to be consensual when you have such a power disparity," she told CNN.
Khan's legal team rejected the vote and said he would challenge the decision. Tayab Ali, partner at Bindmans LLP and head of Khan's legal team, said the Assembly of States Parties had disregarded due process concerns raised by more than 180 nongovernmental organizations and senior international lawyers. Ali said Khan and his lawyers were not allowed to make formal submissions before the vote.
The Prosecutor of this Court has been removed by an executive vote while under sanctions and while the Court is under immense political pressure.
Ali called the decision "unsupported by any lawful or properly reasoned finding that Mr Khan KC committed misconduct or breached his duties as Prosecutor" and said the U.N. Office of Internal Oversight Services investigation produced "not a single finding of misconduct, including sexual misconduct." A three-judge panel unanimously determined in March 2026 that OIOS's factual findings did not establish misconduct or breach of duty by Khan, Ali said.
The removal comes days after Secretary of State Marco Rubio launched a U.S. campaign to "dismantle" the ICC, accusing the court of threatening American sovereignty. Neither the United States nor Israel is a member of the court.
Khan became one of the world's most controversial prosecutors after pursuing ICC arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. The ICC issued the warrants in November 2024, prompting fierce condemnation from Israel and the United States.
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon told Fox News Digital that Khan believed "by launching a political witch hunt against Israel and issuing a politically-motivated arrest warrant against Prime Minister Netanyahu, the world would ignore the grave sexual misconduct allegations against him."
"He was wrong," Danon said. "He sought to scapegoat Israel in an attempt to divert attention from his own misconduct. The international community rejected that cynical attempt today."
Danon added: "The attacks against Israel, which were intended to distract from his disgraceful conduct, did not save Karim Khan, and they will not help Zohran Mamdani either."
Anne Bayefsky, president of Human Rights Voices and director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust, told Fox News Digital that Khan "unexpectedly requested arrest warrants for Israel's prime minister and defense minister within weeks of discovering his sexual deviancy had been revealed." Bayefsky said Khan "accused his victim of being a Mossad agent."
The warrants also became a flashpoint in New York politics after Mayor Zohran Mamdani repeatedly invoked the ICC case against Netanyahu. Mamdani said during his campaign that he would seek to arrest Netanyahu if the Israeli leader came to New York, and later acknowledged as mayor that the city lacks authority to enforce the warrant while calling on the federal government to do so.
The ICC, based in The Hague, was created under the Rome Statute to prosecute individuals accused of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression when national courts are unable or unwilling to act. Khan had stepped aside in May 2025 while a U.N. oversight investigation was underway and was suspended in June 2026 pending the final vote.
The ICC has not said Khan's removal affects the Netanyahu and Gallant warrants, which were issued by judges after Khan's request. Requests sent to Khan's office were not answered by the time of publication.
What happens to the Netanyahu and Gallant warrants — issued by judges, not the prosecutor — is now the court's most explosive unanswered question.