Fiji's Nazhat Shameem Khan is a ICC deputy prosecutor. Photo: AFP
A high-profile Fijian is among four International Criminal Court (ICC) judges sanctioned by the United States government.
In a statement on Wednesday, the US Department of State announced that Fiji's Nazhat Shameem Khan, a ICC deputy prosecutor, alongside Canada's Kimberly Prost, France's Nicolas Guillou and Senegal's Mame Mandiaye Niang, would be sanctioned in response to the ICC's "ongoing threat to Americans and Israelis".
According to the State Department, the sanctions were imposed under Executive Order 14203, which targets "foreign persons engaged in certain malign efforts by the ICC" and seeks to impose serious consequences on those directly participating in the Court's actions against the United States and Israel.
Shameem Khan is "being designated for continuing to support illegitimate ICC actions against Israel, including upholding the ICC's arrest warrants targeting Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Gallant" since assuming her role at the ICC.
The sanctions mean all four individuals will have their US-based assests and interests frozen, and any financial transactions involving them in the US will be prohibited unless specifically approved.
The ICC strongly rejected the US sanctions against its judges, calling them "a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution".
"They constitute also an affront against the Court's States Parties, the rules-based international order and, above all, millions of innocent victims across the world.
"As stated before by the ICC President and Judiciary, as well as the Presidency of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, the Court stands firmly behind its personnel and victims of unimaginable atrocities."
The Court said it will continue carrying out its mandate in strict accordance with its legal framework, as adopted by the 125 States Parties, and without regard to any restriction, pressure or threat.
