US Court Challenges Trump’s Sanctions on ICC amidst Gaza Genocide Probes
A federal judge has delivered a significant challenge to President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting the ICC. The ruling suggests that Trump’s efforts to penalize individuals cooperating with the court likely violate the First Amendment, specifically protecting two human rights activists.
A US federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction against an executive order by US President Donald Trump that sought to impose sanctions on individuals cooperating with the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The ruling, handed down by Judge Nancy Torresen of the Federal District Court in Maine, found that the order likely constitutes a violation of First Amendment rights, offering a measure of protection to two American human rights activists.
The executive order, re-issued by Trump, explicitly aimed to punish those providing “funds, goods or services” to ICC officials under sanction, ostensibly to safeguard “America and our close ally Israel” from what it termed “baseless actions” by the court. However, Judge Torresen determined that the directive’s scope extended far beyond its stated objectives, infringing upon speech-based activities.
This judicial intervention marks a notable, albeit partial, setback to Washington’s aggressive campaign to undermine and isolate the world’s highest criminal court.
‘Denied’ – ICC Upholds Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant in Genocide Probe
The ICC has recently become a focal point of international scrutiny, particularly for its critical actions concerning the genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people. The court has issued arrest warrants for high-ranking Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, specifically citing the use of starvation as a method of warfare in the ongoing genocidal assault on Gaza.
The ICC’s Chief Prosecutor, Karim Khan, along with four ICC judges and Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, have been subjected to US sanctions under this executive order.
Albanese, a vocal critic of Israel’s policies, has decried these measures as “mafia techniques of intimidation,” underscoring the severe pressure exerted by the US to impede accountability for Israeli war crimes.
While the United States is not a signatory to the Rome Statute that established the ICC, its attempts to obstruct the court’s independent investigations are widely seen by human rights advocates and much of the international community as an affront to global justice.
ICC Chief: Israel Failing to Make ‘Real Effort’ in Investigating Gaza War Crimes
The judge’s decision, though limited to the two plaintiffs, Matthew Smith and Akila Radhakrishnan, who were forced to suspend their crucial work with the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor due to the order, signals a potential crack in the US administration’s ability to arbitrarily penalize those seeking justice for victims of atrocities, including the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe and suspected genocide unfolding in Gaza. T
The ruling highlights the escalating tension between the US, a key enabler of the Israeli war and genocide, and international legal bodies striving to hold perpetrators of mass crimes accountable.
(NYT, PC, AJA)