US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced US sanctions on International Criminal Court officials involved in investigations into cases against Americans whose war crimes cases are being heard in Afghanistan.
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order allowing sanctions to be imposed on individuals involved in the investigation, and Pompeo noted at a joint news conference with US defense and justice ministers that these measures include economic sanctions and restrictions on entry to the United States against these officials and their families.
Pompeo criticized this court for calling for its reform, saying in the same context, "We cannot allow them to come and enjoy American freedoms even though they are trying those who defend these freedoms."
The International Criminal Court decided to launch an investigation after the preliminary findings of prosecutors in 2017 concluded that there was a rationale for believing that war crimes were committed in Afghanistan, and that the court had jurisdiction to hear it.
US Defense Secretary Mark Esber commented that the United States will not allow the trial of US soldiers because of what he described as "alleged violations".
He added at the press conference that the ICC charges of American soldiers are incorrect and that Washington is not part of the court.
As for US Secretary of Justice William Barr, he said that the measures taken today are an essential step to hold the International Criminal Court accountable for its violation of US sovereignty.
He referred to "credible information" that raises fears of "financial corruption" in the Office of the Prosecutor, considering that the court "has actually become a political tool by an international elite that occupies it to manipulate the foreign policy of states, including the United States."
Preventing justice
For her part, Andrea Brasao, director of the Human Rights Watch office in Washington, criticized the US President’s executive decision to impose sanctions on ICC officials, and said the measure appeared to contempt for the rule of international law.
She described the attack on the court as an attempt to prevent victims of serious crimes, whether in Afghanistan, Israel or Palestine, from seeing justice. She called on nations that support international justice to publicly oppose this blatant attempt to obstruct justice.
Trump has repeatedly attacked the Hague-based court that was established to prosecute war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.
The court ruling applies only if the member country is unable or unwilling to prosecute the perpetrators themselves.
Afghanistan is a member of the court, although Kabul holds that any war crimes must be prosecuted locally.
The US government has never joined the court established in 2002, and the Trump administration imposed a travel ban and other restrictions on some ICC staff a year ago.