Karim Khan is the only member of the court to be sanctioned so far, with his wife and children also affected
Karim Khan, the British chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, has been barred from entering the United States by Donald Trump.
The 54-year-old lawyer was named by the White House on Monday morning as the sole member of the ICC to be sanctioned by the US so far.
His wife, children and other immediate family members are also affected.
Any property owned by Mr Khan in the US will be subject to being seized.
Mr Trump last week signed an executive order sanctioning unnamed ICC officials, accusing the court of engaging in “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel”.
Arrest warrant for Hamas commander
The sanctions are viewed as retaliation for the arrest warrant the court issued for Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, and Yoav Gallant, his former minister of defence, for alleged war crimes in Gaza.
An arrest warrant has also been issued for Mohammed Deif, the Hamas commander, including for “murder” on October 7 but Israel said Deif has been killed in the conflict.
Neither the US nor Israel are members of the ICC.
Mr Trump previously slapped Fatou Bensouda, Mr Khan’s predecessor, and one of her deputies with sanctions over their investigation of alleged crimes by US troops in Afghanistan.
Those named in ICC warrants risk arrest should they set foot in any of the 125 countries – including the UK – which are members of the court.
In the latest executive order, Mr Trump said: “The United States unequivocally opposes and expects our allies to oppose any ICC actions against the United States, Israel, or any other ally of the United States that has not consented to ICC jurisdiction.”
Sir Keir Starmer, the UK Prime Minister, subsequently gave his backing for the court.
“Ultimately, that’s a matter for the US. As for the UK, we support the independence of the ICC,” his spokesman said last Friday.
“Therefore, we’ve got no plans to sanction individual court officials.”
The spokesman later added that the “UK and the US, over a number of administrations, have taken a different view on the ICC”.
Britain, France and Germany are among the 79 countries which signed a statement condemning Mr Trump’s executive order.
The move against the ICC was condemned by Judge Tomoko Akane, its current president.
She said the executive order was “only the latest in a series of unprecedented and escalatory attacks aiming to undermine the Court’s ability to administer justice in all situations”.
However, Mr Trump does have bipartisan backing with Republicans and some Democrats backing a bill imposing sanctions on ICC officials.
Republican congressman Chip Roy, who sponsored the bill, accused the ICC of “international lawfare”.
