The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on the president of the International Criminal Court and one of its senior prosecutors. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that sanctions target Tomoko Akane, a Japanese national, and Abdoulaye Seye, a Senegalese national. Their assets in US jurisdictions will be frozen, and they will be barred from the US financial system.
Rubio stated: "The Trump Administration has been clear: the International Criminal Court is a corrupt and fatally politicized supranational court that has maliciously abused its authority and exceeded its mandate. We will not tolerate its assault on state sovereignty."
This is the latest action by the Trump administration against the ICC, which it accuses of overstepping its mandate by investigating or trying soldiers, commanders, and political officials from non-member states like Israel and the United States.
The ICC responded that the sanctions "undermine the rule of law," adding: "When judicial actors are threatened for applying the law, it is the international legal order itself that is placed at risk."
Associated Press writer Mike Corder in The Hague contributed to this report.