ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, who led the Israeli war crimes case, ‘tried to silence sexual assault allegations’

Officials close to Mr. Khan, 54, have suggested he may have been the victim of a smear campaign, but the prosecutor refrained from accusing Israel of direct involvement. Instead, he said, he and the ICC “were subjected to a wide range of attacks and threats.”

Mr Khan told The Guardian he did not pressure the woman to drop her complaint.

His lawyers said: “Our client denies all allegations and we are most concerned that the revelation of a confidential and closed internal matter is designed to undermine his ongoing high-profile work at a sensitive time.”

In an earlier statement released when the allegations first emerged in the media, Mr Khan said: “There is no truth to such allegations of abuse.

“I have worked in different contexts for 30 years and I have never received a complaint like this from anyone.”

‘Compulsive sexual behavior’

The accusations include prolonged unwanted sexual contact and “abuse”, as well as allegations that Mr Khan “pressed his tongue” into the woman’s ear, The Guardian reported.

There were also allegations of coercive sexual behavior and abuse of authority, according to the newspaper.

The alleged victim did not comment. Multiple sources told The Guardian that he resisted alleged pressure to deny the allegations and believed Mr Khan wanted to make him say the accusations were fabricated.

Sources said the woman refrained from filing a complaint against Mr. Khan because she feared reprisals and that Israel might exploit it for political reasons.

‘Zero tolerance policy’

After the allegations first emerged, the Independent Oversight Mechanism, which investigates ICC abuses, issued a statement calling for the privacy of everyone involved to be respected.

It was stated that the court follows a zero-tolerance policy towards prohibited conduct such as harassment, including sexual harassment, discrimination and abuse of authority.

“Any reports of misconduct are taken very seriously, with full respect for the presumption of innocence and the duty of care to ICC staff.”