The administration of US President Donald Trump has sanctioned International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane and Senior Trial Lawyer Abdoulaye Seye. The restrictions will freeze any assets they may have in the United States and bar US-based entities from conducting transactions with them from September 17.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that the measures were part of the administration’s campaign to dismantle the court, which investigates genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Who was sanctioned and what the restrictions do
Akane, a Japanese judge, has led the ICC since her election as president in March 2024. Seye, who is from Senegal, is a senior trial lawyer at the court.
The United States has already sanctioned more than a dozen ICC judges and prosecutors. The measures have prompted financial institutions to cut sanctioned officials off from much of the international banking system. Human rights groups and individuals, including United Nations special rapporteur Francesca Albanese, have also faced US financial restrictions over cooperation with the ICC.
Why the Trump administration is targeting the court
The administration says the ICC exceeded its authority by investigating actions involving the United States and Israel, although neither country is a member of the court. Supporters of the ICC argue that it can investigate and prosecute conduct carried out in its 125 member states even when the alleged perpetrators are from non-member countries.
The court opened a probe in 2020 into alleged US war crimes in Afghanistan, where the United States led a multi-decade war until 2021. In 2024, it issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes during Israel’s war on Gaza.
The response and what may happen next
The ICC said threats against judicial actors applying the law put the international legal order at risk. In June, three ICC judges sued the Trump administration, describing the sanctions as an arbitrary and capricious effort to curtail the court’s judicial independence.
Rubio has described the ICC as a corrupt and politicised court and an intolerable threat to US and Israeli sovereignty. He indicated that further punitive measures could follow. Chad and Venezuela have announced plans to withdraw from the ICC, with critics citing US influence as a motivating factor.
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