On Monday, June 8th, 2026, the ICC oversight body sent Karim Khan, the Chief ICC prosecutor, on compulsory leave. This follows a long probe into accusations of sexual misbehavior.
Karim Khan, the current Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), is now on compulsory leave. The ICC, through its oversight body, suspended him on Monday, June 8th, 2026. However, the sexual allegations against him began a couple of years ago.
ICC management and oversight body is called the ASP bureau. This stands for the Assembly of State Parties bureau, which has representatives from every ICC member state.
On Monday, the bureau decided to suspend Karim Khan. This followed a disciplinary proceeding by its expert oversight arm, the Independent Oversight Mechanism (I.O.M).
Karim Khan has not been in office since May 2025. Apparently, he stepped aside to prepare his defense. Hence, Monday’s suspension appears to be a mere formality.
Sexual Accusations against the ICC Prosecutor
One of Karim Khan’s aides has accused him of continued sexual harassment. These accusations are not new. The first time the accusations reached the oversight body was in mid-2024. That was just a couple of years into Khan’s tenure.
In May 2024, a third party made the accusations against the Chief ICC Prosecutor. However, at the time, the alleged victim did not comment. Later in October 2024, someone anonymously leaked the accusations on Twitter. This time, the leakage contained the name of the alleged victim. Hence, the ICC could no longer ignore the accusations.
Consequently, the ASP President issued a statement a few days later. She confirmed the content leaked on social media, and the matter seemed to end there. The president, Paivi Kaukoranta from Finland, said that the I.O.M. could not proceed with the investigations. Hence, as things were, nobody initiated any investigations into Khan’s conduct.
On his part, Karim Khan refuted the accusations made on social media. He also said that if the I.O.M. needed any information he would provide it.
Towards the end of 2024, pressure from the civil society increased, and the ASP bureau had to act. It kick-started the process, then Karim Khan stepped aside, and now he is officially on suspension.
Karim Khan’s Professional Journey in Brief
Karim Khan is a British criminal lawyer. He represented several high-profile individuals before the ICC before becoming its Chief Prosecutor. Among his high-profile clients was William Ruto, the current president of Kenya.
Khan became Queen’s Counsel in 2011 and worked on several high-profile cases, sometimes as prosecutor and others as defense counsel.
He took over the role of ICC Chief Prosecutor from Fatou Bensouda from the Gambia. Bensouda completed her 9-year term in June 2021.
The current sexual allegations now threaten to mar Karim Khan’s impressive career. Incidentally, it seems the UN’s Internal Oversight Services has compiled a report and revealed it to the media.
The UN Findings on Karim Khan’s Accusations
The UN report confirms that the ICC prosecutor had sexual contact with his aide, and it was not consensual. Apparently, this happened in his office and at his residence. It is also said that Khan repeated the offense while out on official duty with the same victim.
The world community now waits to see if Karim Khan’s defense will be strong enough to exonerate him. Meanwhile, he remains on compulsory leave. It is important to note that only a majority vote by ASP members can remove the ICC Prosecutor from office.