The Bar Standards Board (BSB), the independent regulator of barristers in England and Wales, has issued an immediate temporary suspension of Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
According to a BSB statement on June 8, the suspension order comes just one week after the ICC itself suspended Khan. Khan, 56, has led several high-profile prosecutions targeting key figures in conflicts in Sudan, Russia, and the Middle East.
The allegations against Khan involve sexual harassment of a female assistant. The claims were first reported over two years ago. Khan denies all wrongdoing.
“The interim suspension order must be considered by an Interim Suspension Panel at a hearing within the next four weeks,” the BSB statement noted.
Earlier, two colleagues had filed misconduct complaints against Khan with the ICC's oversight body. However, the initial investigation was closed after the woman involved declined to file a formal complaint, citing fear of retaliation.
The allegations emerged as Khan was pursuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu related to Israel's military campaign in Gaza. In response, the United States, which does not recognize the ICC, imposed sanctions on 11 ICC staff members, including Khan, revoking their U.S. visas and freezing their bank accounts.
On June 8, the ICC's executive committee suspended Khan after an investigation found he had engaged in “serious misconduct” and “serious breaches of duty.” Khan's lawyers have rejected the decision and vowed to appeal.
Khan had already stepped aside temporarily in May 2025, pending the outcome of a separate investigation by the UN's Office of Internal Oversight Services. In April, UN investigators concluded that Khan had engaged in “non-consensual contact” with the female assistant at “the office, at his private residence,” and during a work trip.
However, a three-judge panel selected by the ICC's oversight body, the Assembly of States Parties (ASP), to legally assess the report rejected those findings. The judges ruled that the UN investigators had “failed to indicate which witness testimony was credible” and “did not address inconsistencies in the accounts.”
The ICC is expected to hold a vote on whether to remove Khan from office on July 24, according to sources and documents cited by The Wall Street Journal. Al Jazeera could not independently verify this information.
