US Imposes Sanctions on ICC President and Senior Prosecutor

The Trump administration has imposed financial sanctions on the president of the International Criminal Court and one of its senior trial lawyers, escalating its campaign against the tribunal. The State Department announced the measures on Tuesday, targeting ICC President Tomoko Akane of Japan and Abdoulaye Seye, a senior trial lawyer from Senegal.

The sanctions freeze any assets the two officials hold in U.S. jurisdictions or that come into contact with the American financial system. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that the court is "corrupt and fatally politicized," accusing it of maliciously exceeding its mandate and assaulting state sovereignty.

The administration has repeatedly criticized the ICC for investigating or prosecuting soldiers, commanders, and political leaders from countries that are not members of the court, including the United States and Israel. The latest action follows earlier sanctions and reflects the administration's broader effort to dismantle the tribunal's operations.

The ICC responded swiftly, as it has to previous U.S. actions, warning that the sanctions undermine the rule of law. The court said that threatening judicial actors for applying the law places the entire international legal order at risk.