ICC, other countries blast new US sanctions on court officials

The International Criminal Court has denounced new US sanctions against two more of its judges and two prosecutors, calling them a "flagrant attack" on its independence.

The four include Judge Nicolas Guillou of France, who is presiding over a case in which an arrest warrant was issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Canadian judge Kimberly Prost and deputy prosecutors Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji and Mame Mandiaye Niang of Senegal were also hit.

Prost was involved in a case that authorised an investigation into alleged crimes committed during the war in Afghanistan, including by US forces.

"These sanctions are a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution," the court said in a statement on Wednesday.

The ICC said it stood "firmly behind its personnel and victims of unimaginable atrocities".

It said it would "continue fulfilling its mandates, undeterred" and "without regard to any restriction, pressure or threat".

Four other judges and the court's prosecutor had already been placed under sanctions.

Undermining international justice

The UN also expressed concern over the US' decision to impose new sanctions on four judges of the ICC, warning that such measures "undermine the foundation of international justice."

The UN "firmly believes that the ICC is a key pillar of international criminal justice," spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a news conference after he was asked about Washington's latest decision to sanction four ICC officials, including a judge who authorised the arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant.