The United States' long-standing investigation by the International Criminal Court against the US military is unsuitable. Now Trump wants to take sanctions against court employees.
Washington (dpa) - US President Donald Trump has approved sanctions against employees of the International Criminal Court who are investigating or prosecuting US security forces.
Any possession of those affected in the United States can be frozen, according to a Trump decree published by the White. The International Criminal Court in The Hague cleared the way for investigations into suspected war crimes in Afghanistan in March - including against CIA officials.
The White House said the president had also approved the extension of visa restrictions to criminal court officials and their dependents. The United States would take all necessary measures to protect its citizens and allies from unjustified persecution by the court. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Secretary of Justice William Barr and National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien said on Thursday.
The International Criminal Court prosecutes war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. 123 states have ratified the basic treaty of the court, the so-called Roman statutes. The United States is not a State party to the Court of Justice and has strictly rejected it for years.
The judges in The Hague ruled in March that investigations into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan could also be used to investigate CIA employees. The indictment may also officially investigate alleged war crimes in suspected secret prison camps of the US armed forces outside Afghanistan.
Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda had requested judicial approval to take action against those responsible for torture, arbitrary killings, sexual violence and other war crimes committed in connection with the war in Afghanistan since 2003.
The U.S. government had already threatened countermeasures last year if the court did so. She announced that the International Criminal Court officials would be denied entry if they investigate US citizens in connection with their actions in Afghanistan. Shortly afterwards, the US withdrew Bensouda's entry visa to prevent the court from opening an investigation against US soldiers for alleged crimes in Afghanistan.
Investigations by the World Criminal Court usually take years. It is not clear whether they will lead to warrants or a lawsuit in this case.
World criminal court
Tweet Shaharsad Akbar