The Malaysian link in the sexual harassment allegations against ICC’s Karim Khan

A Malaysian female lawyer is at the centre of sexual harassment allegations involving the chief prosecutor Karim Khan at the International Criminal Court.

Khan is currently facing sexual harassment allegations that he tried for more than a year to coerce the aide, who is in her late 30s, into a sexual relationship and groped her against her will.

He has denied the allegations on the grounds that there is “no truth to suggestions of misconduct.”

The British barrister became a known name after charging Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and its former defence minister Yoav Gallant with crimes against humanity committed during the war on Gaza.

Officials at the ICC claim the allegations may be part of a smear campaign by Israeli intelligence.

The Kuala Lumpur-born lawyer studied law at universities in the UK and is based in the Office of the Chief Prosecutor at The Hague.

The New York Times in May said she rejected an internal inquiry and insisted that independent investigators examine the allegations.

In May, the 55-year-old Khan took leave of absence until the end of the external investigation, which began late last year. The ICC said in a statement that deputy prosecutors are running the office in his absence.

The report said an anonymous account on X called @ICC_Leaks, brought the allegations to light and has been allegedly promoting a campaign against Khan and the ICC, claiming the court has for years had a toxic workplace environment.

It added that after announcing the charges against Netanyahu and Gallant, Khan hinted that external forces were attempting to influence the investigation.

“I insist that all attempts to impede, intimidate or improperly influence the officials of this court must cease immediately,” he said.

Sources at the ICC say the results of the investigation into the allegations could determine the future of the ICC.

Meanwhile, according to an exclusive report in the Middle East Eye news portal last week, Khan was warned that he and the ICC would be “destroyed” if they continued with the actions against the Israeli leaders.

The report said the warning was delivered to him by Nicholas Kaufman, a British-Israeli defence lawyer at the court.

It claimed the lawyer had told Khan he had spoken to Netanyahu’s legal advisor and, according to a note of the meeting lodged on file at the ICC and seen by Middle East Eye, he was “authorised” to make him a proposal that would allow Khan to “climb down the tree”.

“He told Khan to apply to the court to reclassify the warrants and underlying information as confidential.

“This, it was suggested, would allow Israel to access the details of the allegations, which it could not do at the time, and challenge them in private – without the outcome being made public,” the report said.

Britain’s Guardian newspaper reported last year that Israel’s foreign intelligence agency Mossad had targeted ICC staff including placing Khan and his predecessor, Fatou Bensouda, under surveillance.

The paper claimed that it’s year-long investigation revealed that the then chief of Mossad threatened Bensouda during a series of secret meetings in 2021 to try to force the ICC to drop a probe into war crimes committed by Israeli forces in occupied Palestinian territories.