Malaysian ICC staff member speaks publicly over sexual misconduct allegations against prosecutor Karim Khan
THE HAGUE: A Malaysian lawyer working at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has spoken publicly for the first time about allegations of sexual misconduct involving the court’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan, rejecting claims that her complaint was part of a political effort to damage his reputation.
The woman, identified as Sarah, said her allegations were based solely on her own experience and not linked to any political agenda or attempts to influence the ICC’s leadership.
Her public appearance marks the first time she has directly addressed allegations that have placed the ICC under intense scrutiny and triggered an unprecedented disciplinary process involving its chief prosecutor.
Sarah, 39, previously served as Khan’s special assistant between 2023 and 2024 after working at the ICC for several years.
In an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, she described what she alleged was a gradual development of inappropriate behaviour, claiming that it began with emotional boundary violations before escalating into physical conduct.
She said the behaviour involved repeated attempts to cross professional boundaries, describing it as a gradual process involving both emotional and physical interactions.
Sarah alleged that an incident occurred during an official trip to Colombia, claiming Khan entered her hotel room while she was pretending to be asleep and engaged in unwanted physical contact.
Khan, who was elected as ICC prosecutor in 2021 for a nine-year term, has denied all allegations made against him.
Sarah also rejected suggestions that she had been influenced or used by external parties seeking to undermine Khan, particularly over his handling of politically sensitive international investigations.
She said any indication that she was acting on behalf of a government or intelligence organisation would have resulted in disciplinary action against her.
“My complaint was because of what happened to me, not for any other reason,” she said.
According to reports, documents reviewed during the investigation found no evidence supporting claims that Sarah was acting on behalf of third parties or intelligence agencies.
The CNN interview also featured another woman, identified by the pseudonym Patricia, who previously made allegations against Khan relating to an earlier period when she worked as an intern under him in 2009.
Patricia alleged that Khan repeatedly subjected her to inappropriate behaviour during her time at the organisation.
However, Khan’s legal representative Sareta Ashraph maintained that the allegations were not new and that Khan continued to deny them completely.
Ashraph argued that the evidence presented publicly did not represent the full picture of the case and questioned the timing of the interviews, which came shortly before a vote by ICC member states on Khan’s future.
The ICC’s 125 member states are scheduled to meet at the United Nations headquarters in New York to decide whether Khan should remain in office.
The controversy escalated after the executive committee of the ICC’s governing body suspended Khan following a finding of serious misconduct related to Sarah’s allegations and referred the matter to member states for further action.
Khan’s legal team has continued to argue that the disciplinary proceedings are politically motivated and unfair, while maintaining his denial of all allegations.
The case has become one of the most serious institutional challenges faced by the ICC, raising questions about accountability, workplace conduct and governance within the world’s leading international criminal justice body.
