The administration of US President Donald Trump has taken punitive measures against four judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Trump decided to take action against four ICC judges due to dissatisfaction with the court’s order to arrest Zionist Israeli terrorist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and because of the court’s decision to reinvestigate inhumane crimes and war crimes committed by US colonial troops involved in the Afghanistan war. The four judges against whom the Trump administration has taken action are Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda, Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza of Peru, Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini-Gansou of Benin, and Beti Hohler of Slovenia. The announcement of the decision to take action against them was made by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“As judges, these four individuals have taken illegal actions against the United States and its close friend, Israel, based on unsubstantiated allegations. The ICC has been politicized and continues to advocate for investigating, prosecuting, and trying citizens of the United States and its allied countries,” Rubio said. The ICC has condemned the Trump administration’s decision to take punitive measures against the four judges of the court. The court said that the Trump administration’s action is an act of encroachment on the judicial independence of the court. And that it is a decision made to obstruct the work the court is doing to protect and ensure the rights of millions of people.
Among the judges against whom the US has decided to take action, Bossa and Ibáñez Carranza were appointed to the court in 2018. These two judges played a key role in the ICC’s 2020 investigation into inhumane crimes and war crimes committed by US troops involved in the Afghanistan war. However, in 2021, the court suspended the investigation of US colonial troops involved in committing inhumane crimes against Afghan civilians. In addition, the Trump administration decided to take action against judges Alapini-Gansou and Hohler in connection with the arrest warrant for Netanyahu. The court has also ordered the arrest of former Zionist Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The ICC ordered the arrest of these two individuals in connection with the ongoing inhumane crimes and genocide against the people of Gaza in Palestine.
The Trump administration believes that the ICC’s order to arrest these two individuals and the decision to investigate inhumane crimes committed in the Afghanistan war is due to the animosity the court’s judges hold against the United States. In 2020, during President Trump’s first term, measures were also taken against another ICC judge. This was also in connection with the investigation of the Afghanistan-related case. In January, following the ICC’s issuance of an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, the US Congress also passed a resolution to punish the ICC. The ICC is a court established in 2002 to investigate genocides, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Member countries of the court, as well as the United Nations Security Council, have the opportunity to submit cases to the court. The United States, China, Russia, and Jewish Israel are not members of this court.
