ICC chief prosecutor Khan suspended by British bar association after sexual misconduct allegations

Britain’s Bar Standards Board said on Friday it had imposed an interim suspension of Karim Khan, who had been the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor before he was suspended by the court on June 8 over sexual misconduct accusations.

“Under the BSB’s Enforcement Regulations, the interim suspension must now be considered by an Interim Suspension Panel at a hearing within the next four weeks,” the board said, adding that the suspension was effective immediately.

Khan, 56, denies the allegations made against him.

A diplomatic source briefed on the ICC’s decision to suspend Khan told Reuters the court’s governing body’s executive bureau has ruled that he had committed serious misconduct following an 18-month-long probe into accusations that the prosecutor had non-consensual sexual interactions with a lawyer in his office.

The source added that the bureau has recommended that the prosecutor be removed from office.

The ICC’s governing body will send its conclusion on to all 125 ICC member states, which will vote on Khan’s fate in a special session convened at a later date.