The U.S. Treasury on Aug. 18 imposed sanctions on Tomoko Akane, the Japanese jurist who serves as President of the International Criminal Court, and on Abdoulaye Seye of Senegal, a senior trial lawyer at the Court.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s justification was that “these individuals have directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute officials whose government has not consented to ICC jurisdiction.” This general statement refers quite specifically to the arrest warrants issued by the ICC for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Washington sanctioned several other ICC officials over the same warrants last year.
In the same week, Israel’s national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said in a recorded appearance that 30 to 40 Palestinians should be killed every night, that many have no right to live and should not be called human beings. Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned the remarks through his deputy spokesman as “inhumane appeals, which violate international law.” Figures across the German coalition and opposition have called for EU sanctions or an entry ban.