The European Union has roundly deplored the United States for sanctioning four judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC), including one citizen from the bloc, Slovenia’s Beti Hohler, further deepening the divide between transatlantic allies.
The sanctions, which also target nationals from Benin, Uganda and Peru, were announced on Thursday by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said the decision was based on the court’s “baseless and politicised” investigations of war crimes allegedly committed by US forces in Afghanistan and Israel in the Gaza Strip.
The second probe led to arrest warrants on Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Natayanhu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. Judge Hohler ruled in favour of the orders.
As a result of the measures, the four judges will be unable to access their property and assets on US soil and will be blocked from making transactions with American entities. The bans risk hindering the magistrates’ ability to perform their day-to-day work.
“We call on our allies to stand with us against this disgraceful attack,” Rubio said.
Rubio’s call was met with the opposite reaction: emphatic support for the Hague-based tribunal and forceful rejection of the sanctions.
“The ICC holds perpetrators of the world’s gravest crimes to account & gives victims a voice. It must be free to act without pressure,” said Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission.
“We will always stand for global justice & the respect of international law.”
António Costa, the president of the European Council, voiced a similar message.
“The EU strongly supports the International Criminal Court, a cornerstone of international justice,” Costa wrote on social media.
Source:Euronews
