Judges and prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) say US sanctions imposed by the Trump administration have effectively cut them off from basic financial services and everyday activities, following investigations into charges of war crimes involving Israeli and US officials.

According to reports published on Friday, at least nine ICC officials based in The Hague have been directly affected by the measures, which were introduced earlier this year.

Those targeted describe losing access to banking services, online platforms, and even basic consumer technology.

'Your whole world is restricted'

Canadian judge Kimberly Prost, one of the sanctioned officials, said she was suddenly unable to use her credit cards, lost access to e-books she had already purchased, and found that Amazon’s Alexa no longer responded.

“Your whole world is restricted,” Prost said. “It’s the uncertainty. They are small annoyances, but they accumulate.”

Prost was sanctioned in August for voting in favor of allowing the court to investigate alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Afghanistan, including actions carried out by US personnel.

“I’ve worked all my life in criminal justice, and now I’m on a list with those implicated in terrorism and organized crime,” she said.

Deputy prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan also described the pervasive impact of the sanctions, saying even routine activities had become uncertain, including whether her credit card would work from one moment to the next.

Peruvian judge Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza said travel restrictions linked to the sanctions prevented her daughters from attending academic conferences in the United States.

The ICC, the world’s only permanent international war crimes tribunal, has 125 member states. It was targeted by US sanctions in February, with the White House saying the measures were a response to what it called the court’s “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.”

The sanctions were imposed through an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump. They block access to US-linked financial services, online platforms, and email systems, and bar sanctioned individuals from entering the United States.

The order followed the ICC’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Security Minister, Yoav Gallant, over alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during "Israel’s" genocide in Gaza.

Wider context

Under the sanctions regime, businesses and individuals face the risk of heavy fines or prison sentences if they provide services or support to those listed, prompting many companies to withdraw access preemptively.

Reports indicate the measures form part of broader efforts to pressure the court over the arrest warrants. In July, media outlets reported that ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan had been warned that he and the court would be “destroyed” if the warrants were not withdrawn. The warning was reportedly delivered by Nicholas Kaufman, a British-Israeli lawyer at the court with ties to a Netanyahu adviser.

Khan has said "Israel’s" legal advisor told him he was “authorized” to propose a way for the prosecutor to “climb down the tree” and reverse course.

In August, it was also reported that Khan had been privately warned by Britain’s then foreign secretary, David Cameron, that the UK would defund and withdraw from the ICC if the warrants were issued. US Republican senator Lindsey Graham separately threatened Khan with sanctions should he pursue them.

In May, Khan’s office announced he had taken a leave of absence pending the outcome of a UN-led investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct. His lawyers said he denies all wrongdoing and stepped aside only temporarily amid intense media scrutiny.

Since October 2023, "Israel’s" genocide in Gaza has killed more than 70,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and wounded more than 171,000 others, according to local health authorities. Much of the enclave has been reduced to rubble.

Human rights experts and international legal scholars have accused "Israel", with the backing of the United States and other Western allies, of committing acts amounting to genocide in the besieged Gaza Strip. 

Source:Websites