Sudan: ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan Dismissed for Sexual Misconduct

What the report says

AllAfrica, carrying a Dabanga report from New York and The Hague, says International Criminal Court member states have voted to remove Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan after an investigation found serious misconduct. The report says Khan, who had been suspended since June during disciplinary proceedings, is the first ICC prosecutor to be dismissed. Khan has denied the allegations and has argued that the inquiry was flawed.

According to findings cited in the report from The Associated Press, investigators found that Khan had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a female staff member and later tried to dissuade her from pursuing complaints. Dabanga reports that the allegations surfaced nearly two years ago and led to an external investigation by the court’s oversight body. The decision was approved on Friday in New York by a large majority of representatives of the ICC’s 125 member states, who framed the move as necessary for institutional integrity and accountability.

Khan, a British barrister, became ICC prosecutor in 2021 after Fatou Bensouda. His tenure included major Sudan-related proceedings, including the December 2025 sentencing of former Janjaweed commander Ali Muhammad Ali Abdelrahman, known as Ali Kushayb, to 20 years for war crimes and crimes against humanity from 2003-2004. He also reported regularly to the UN Security Council on Darfur, highlighting impunity and the failure to arrest Sudanese suspects including Omar Al Bashir, Abdelrahim Hussein and Ahmed Harun.

Dabanga reports that Khan’s removal is not expected to disrupt ongoing ICC investigations or existing arrest warrants. Deputy prosecutors have been running the Office of the Prosecutor during his suspension and will continue until a successor is chosen, a process expected to begin in the coming months.