The United States has imposed sanctions on International Criminal Court (ICC) President Tomoko Akane and senior lawyer Abdoulaye Cissé. Japanese judge Tomoko Akane currently serves as the ICC President. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions on Tuesday. This marks the latest major move in the long-standing hostile stance of the Donald Trump administration toward the Hague-based court. News agency Reuters reported this development.
Rubio stated that these harsh measures were taken because the individuals were directly involved in efforts to investigate, arrest, or prosecute officials from countries that do not recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction (such as the US and Israel). The sanctions were issued under an executive order signed by Trump. Abdoulaye Cissé, a Senegalese national, was a key member of the prosecution team that sought arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
As a result of these sanctions, all assets held by the two ICC officials in the US will be frozen, and they will be completely cut off from the US financial system. The US financial system maintains close ties with almost all international banks.
Meanwhile, the ICC has strongly condemned the US sanctions. In a statement, the court said that such decisions place the rule of law and the international legal system at serious risk. The Netherlands, the host country of the ICC, also sharply criticized the US move and reaffirmed its full support for the court. Although the US is not a member of the ICC, it is believed that the Trump administration took this step primarily to protect Netanyahu and other allies.
