US sanctions ICC President, Chief Prosecutor

The United States has imposed sanctions on International Criminal Court (ICC) President Judge Tomoko Akane and Senior Prosecutor Abdoullah Seye. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the move on Tuesday, stating that the ICC is attempting to investigate and arrest officials of countries that do not recognise the court's jurisdiction.

This action continues the Trump administration's anti-ICC stance, implemented under an executive order issued last year. The sanctions will freeze the assets of the two officials in the US and ban all their transactions with the US financial system. The Treasury Department has allowed until September 17 to wind down ongoing transactions.

The ICC has strongly condemned the sanctions, saying that punishing officials for carrying out their judicial duties undermines the rule of international law. The court said threatening judges puts the entire international justice system at risk.

Abdoullah Seye, who is among those sanctioned, is part of the prosecution team that sought arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant. Critics view the US move as an attempt to protect Netanyahu.

The ICC is headquartered in the Netherlands. Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen said international courts must be allowed to carry out their duties independently.

The US is not a member of the ICC. However, under ICC rules, the court can exercise jurisdiction over war crimes, genocide or crimes against humanity committed on the territory of a member state, even if the accused is not a citizen of that state.