The United States imposed sanctions on International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye, marking the latest escalation in Washington’s campaign against the court after it issued arrest warrants for Israeli leaders. The measures freeze any U.S. assets the individuals hold and bar them from entering the United States.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions on Tuesday, invoking a Trump executive order that targets officials who “directly engage” in ICC investigations, arrests or prosecutions of governments that have not consented to its jurisdiction. A general license allows wind‑down of transactions involving Akane and Seye through September 17. The United States previously sanctioned other ICC judges and prosecutors after the court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant.
The ICC condemned the sanctions, saying they undermine the rule of law and threaten the international legal order by targeting judicial actors for applying the law. The measures also cut the sanctioned individuals off from the U.S. financial system, which most global banks rely on, potentially hampering the court’s operations and its ability to pursue victims of atrocities. The court affirmed it remains undeterred and stands behind its staff.
The United States portrays the ICC as a politicized, corrupt institution that endangers U.S. personnel and sovereignty, while the court argues the sanctions jeopardize its mandate to prosecute war crimes and erode the global rule of law.