Reuters: ICC to investigate case against chief prosecutor accused of harassment.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) will launch an external investigation against chief prosecutor Karim Khan. He was accused of sexual harassment. Reuters reports this.

Among ICC member countries, an internal document was disseminated urging Khan to temporarily step down from his duties during the investigation. Instead, he could allow one of his deputies to act as prosecutor. Whether the court leadership has approached the chief prosecutor with a request to resign remains unclear.

A Reuters source claims that the alleged victim in Khan's case lacks confidence in the independence of the court's internal body, as its new head previously worked in Khan's office, which supposedly led to information leaks about the harassment allegations.

Meanwhile, Khan himself refuted the allegations of alleged misconduct reported to the court's governing body in October. At that Time, the ICC's chief prosecutor approached his own internal court control body requesting an investigation into them.

It should be noted that in October, The Guardian, citing ICC officials, diplomats, and friends of the alleged victim, wrote about sexual harassment allegations against chief prosecutor Karim Khan.

According to the publication, a woman described as a reputable lawyer in her 30s, who worked directly for Khan, accused the chief prosecutor of unwanted sexual touches and violence over an extended period. Documents received by the court mentioned an incident in which Khan allegedly "stuck his tongue" in the woman's ear.

At the same time, the ICC's chief prosecutor allegedly tried to persuade the victim to drop her claims. Khan denies all accusations, and his lawyers are concerned that the disclosure of the "confidential and closed internal case" is meant to undermine his "high-profile current work at a delicate time."

Recall, Ukraine took the last formal step to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court by sending the ratification certificate for safekeeping.

Incidentally, the Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court confirmed that Mongolia violated its obligations as a state party to the Rome Statute by failing to arrest Russian dictator Vladimir Putin on an ICC warrant.

As reported, the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, requested the Attorney General of Israel, Gali Baharav-Miara, to conduct an inquiry regarding himself and the country's Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, to avoid an ICC arrest warrant but was refused.