The chief prosecutor Mus Karim Khan went on vacation due to accusations of harassment

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan went on an administrative vacation due to the “strong pressure of the media” in anticipation of the completion of the investigation of the accusations of harassment against him. He will not return to his duties until the end of the investigation, his work will be performed by deputies. It is reported by Reuters.

As the agency notes, this is an unprecedented step: there is no clear procedure for changing the chief prosecutor. At the same time, Khan continues to reject all charges and declares that he is not going to resign.

“My decision is dictated by a deep and unshakable commitment to the authority of our office and court, as well as the desire to ensure the integrity of the process and justice in relation to all participants,” Khan wrote in a letter to the court officers.

The accusations against the khan were put forward in May last year two employees of the Mus, whom their colleague complained that during one of the foreign trips, Khan allegedly asked the woman to relax with him on a hotel bed, and then "sexually touched her." He later came to her room at three in the morning and knocked on the door for 10 minutes. The documents mention that he closed the door of his office and put his hand in her pocket. He also allegedly several times offered her to go on vacation together.

A few weeks after that, the khan requested the warrant for the arrest of the Prime Minister of Israel Benyamin Netanyahu and the Minister of Defense of the country of Yoav Gallant. He accused their war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Palestinian territories for the forces of Israel during the war with Hamas, which began after the attack of the Hamas group on Israel on October 7, 2023. Some Western media connected these two events, claiming that Khan could become a victim of the provocation of Israeli special services.