The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on four senior officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC), citing their involvement in investigations and actions against U.S. personnel in Afghanistan and Israeli leaders.
The designations announced by the State Department allows the U.S. to target foreign individuals engaged in certain ICC activities deemed hostile to American and allied interests.
The sanctions block all property and interests of the designated officials within U.S. jurisdiction and prohibit U.S. persons from engaging in transactions with them.
The officials targeted are Judge Kimberly Prost, Judge Nicolas Yann Guillou, Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan, and Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang.
Prost was singled out for authorizing the ICC’s investigation into U.S. personnel in Afghanistan, while Guillou was sanctioned for approving arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Shameem Khan and Niang, both deputy prosecutors, were targeted for continuing to support ICC actions against Israel, including upholding warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant.
“The United States is imposing tangible consequences on those who directly engage in ICC actions against U.S. personnel and Israeli officials without the consent of their countries of nationality,” a State Department spokesperson said.
Under the sanctions, any assets owned or controlled by the designated individuals in the United States are blocked, and U.S. citizens and entities are barred from doing business with them. Entities owned 50% or more by these individuals are also subject to restrictions. Petitions for removal from the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List can be submitted to the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.