Ex-UN official questions dismissal of ICC Prosecutor

Former United Nations representative Mohamad Safa, who quit over claims of a planned nuclear attack on Iran, has raised concerns about the removal of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor, Karim Khan.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Mr Safa said it looks suspicious that allegations of sexual misconduct against Mr Khan came out after he pushed for the ICC to issue an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes in Gaza.

Mr Safa, who was the main representative of Patriotic Vision at the UN, pointed out that no solid proof supporting these allegations was made public. His organization has special consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council.

“In 2024, ICC judges and Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan were pursuing arrest warrants against Israel’s Prime Minister for war crimes committed in Gaza.

“Suddenly, nearly a month after knowing about the arrest warrants, a woman only identified as 'Sarah' accused Prosecutor Karim Khan of sexually assaulting her, with no reports or evidence shared publicly!

“That same year, Karim Khan denied allegations of sexual misconduct, and a panel of judges cleared him,” Mr Safa wrote.

Last Friday, ICC member states voted to remove Karim Khan as prosecutor over sexual misconduct allegations. Reuters reported that 82 out of the 125 member states voted in favor of his removal.

Before this vote, Mr Khan was already suspended. Reports say he was suspended in June after the ICC executive committee decided to refer the case to the court’s 125 member states.

Allegations of sexual misconduct against Mr Khan came up in 2024. A third party reported his alleged misconduct with a female staff member to the ICC, which led to an investigation by the court’s Independent Oversight Mechanism (IOM). Mr Khan is accused of non-consensual behavior over a long period. The case was closed after the victim refused to take part.

In his post, Mr Safa mentioned this case, stating that Karim Khan denied the allegations and a panel of judges cleared him.

“Also in that same year, pressure on Karim Khan continued; the US imposed sanctions on him and many other ICC officials. Not for the sexual assaults, but for the arrest warrants against Israel’s Prime Minister!” he wrote.

Mr Khan has been under US sanctions since 2024 for demanding the arrest of Mr Netanyahu. His troubles grew after a second referral on the case was made in October 2024.

This case was sent to the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) for a wider investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse of authority.

The investigation lasted nearly a year while the ICC faced heavy pressure. By December 2025, the OIOS produced over 5,000 pages of evidence and testimonies. A panel of three judges reviewed this evidence to decide if Mr Khan’s actions amounted to serious misconduct.

In 2025, he also took voluntary leave from the ICC to deal with the allegations. The panel concluded in March 2026 that there was not enough evidence to support the sexual misconduct claims against Mr Khan.

The case was later handed over to the member states, who voted to dismiss him.

“The case should have been dismissed at this point! Three investigations, three different investigators, no evidence of misconduct,” Mr Safa declared.

“But Netanyahu wasn’t satisfied with that. He didn’t accept the outcome of the repeated investigations, which found no evidence of misconduct. So, they referred the case to a vote at the ICC’s assembly; they changed the rules and convicted him through a vote, not through an investigation, but by a vote!

“People read the latest headlines, heavily promoted by their media influence, but people deserve to know the truth about what is happening in our world and what the media does not want you to know,” he added.

“If the issue concerns the sexual misconduct allegations against Khan, why were sanctions imposed on other ICC judges who took part in issuing the arrest warrant? Why were my bank accounts closed because of my statements and reports at the UN condemning Israeli war crimes in Lebanon and Gaza?” he questioned further.

Tayab Ali, who leads Mr Khan’s legal team, also noted that Mr Khan was removed “by an executive vote while under US sanctions and the Court is under immense political pressure.”

Meanwhile, Mr Safa resigned as a UN-affiliated diplomat in March. He later accused the UN of preparing for a possible use of nuclear weapons on Iran.

He said he resigned from his role to “leak the information.” He then claimed that some senior figures at the UN had been “serving a powerful lobby” instead of the UN itself.