ICC ‘deplores’ new US sanctions on its judges and prosecutors
How did your country report this? Share your view in the comments.
Diverging Reports Breakdown
ICC rejects new US sanctions on judges, deputy prosecutors
Necessary Cookies are used to distinguish between humans and bots. This is beneficial for the web site in order to make valid reports on the use of their web site.
This cookie is used to distinguish between humans and bots. This is beneficial for the web site, in order to make valid reports on the use of their web site.
Functional Cookies
Remembers the user’s selected language version of a website.
Performance/Analytical Cookies
Registers a unique ID that is used to generate statistical data on how the visitor uses the website.Used by Google Analytics to throttle request rate.
Accept Reject
Advertising/Marketing Cookies
This cookie is used to collect information on consumer behavior, which is sent to Alexa Analytics. (Alexa Analytics is an Amazon company.)
Frank Caprio: ‘Nicest judge in the world’ dies aged 88
US celebrity judge and social media star Frank Caprio has died aged 88, his family has said. His death following a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer was announced on his official Instagram account. Judge Caprio was remembered for his “warmth” and “unwavering belief in the goodness of people” His son David Caprio urged people to “spread a little kindness” in his father’s memory. He is survived by his wife, Joyce Caprio, of almost 60 years, their five children, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Beloved for his compassion and humour in the courtroom, videos of Judge Caprio presiding over cases on his hit show Caught in Providence have had billions of views on social media, earning him the title the “nicest judge in the world”.
David Caprio, his son, thanked fans for their love and support and urged people to “spread a little kindness” in his father’s memory.
His death following a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer was announced on his official Instagram account, where he was remembered for his “warmth” and “unwavering belief in the goodness of people”.
US celebrity judge and social media star Frank Caprio has died aged 88, his family has said.
In an the Instagram statement to his 3.4 million followers, Judge Caprio was remembered for the “countless acts of kindness he inspired”.
“His warmth, humour, and kindness left an indelible mark on all who knew him,” the statement said.
Judge Caprio had presided over thousands of cases in his hometown of Providence, Rhode Island before embarking on a TV career.
The company behind Caught in Providence, Debmar-Mercury, paid tribute to Judge Caprio’s “unique brand of compassion and common sense approach”.
“We will miss him dearly,” co-presidents Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein said in a statement.
During its run, Caught in Providence was nominated for three Daytime Emmys, with Judge Caprio earning two of his own nominations last year.
His signature courtroom style produced viral clips ranging from him inviting children to sit with him behind the bench during cases, to announcing a “mini-judge” plushie of himself.
A TikTok video showcasing his morning routine – brushing his teeth, signing his book and watching videos of his own show – has had more than 5m views.
In an 2019 interview, Judge Caprio said his courtroom proceedings “show a slice of life of Rhode Island that is very interesting, and it reflects the same issues people are experiencing nationwide”.
After being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2023, Judge Caprio said he was “fully prepared to fight as hard I can” and thanked followers for their support.
In one of his last social media posts, Judge Caprio announced he was back in hospital after suffering a “setback” in his treatment and asked his followers for their prayers.
Judge Caprio is survived by his wife, Joyce Caprio, of almost 60 years, their five children, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
ICC Deplores New US Sanctions on Judges and Prosecutors
The U.S. State Department has announced sanctions against four ICC judges and prosecutors. The officials are involved in efforts to prosecute U.s. and Israeli citizens. The ICC has condemned the sanctions as a “flagrant attack” on its independence and impartiality. The court argued that such measures are an affront to the rules-based international order and detrimental to millions of innocent victims globally. The U.N. human rights chief has called for the withdrawal of the U.M. sanctions against the ICC officials, arguing that such actions counteract respect for the rule of law. The sanctions follow similar restrictions previously imposed on the ICC’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan KC, and four other judges.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio characterized the ICC as a “national security threat” and an “instrument of lawfare” directed against the U.S. and Israel, sentiments echoed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who praised the U.S. decision. The ICC recently issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant due to allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to actions taken during the conflict in Gaza.
France joined the ICC in condemning the U.S. sanctions, voicing “dismay” over the targeting of one of its judges, Nicolas Guillou, who is included among the sanctioned officials. The sanctions also list Judge Kimberly Prost of Canada and Deputy Prosecutors Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji and Mame Mandiaye Niang of Senegal.
In his statement announcing these sanctions, Rubio denounced what he described as the ICC’s “politicisation, abuse of power, and illegitimate judicial overreach.” The ICC, a global judicial body with jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, responded by denouncing the sanctions as a “flagrant attack” on its independence and impartiality. The court argued that such measures are an affront to the rules-based international order and detrimental to millions of innocent victims globally.
The French Foreign Ministry criticized the sanctions as inconsistent with the principle of an independent judiciary. Meanwhile, Netanyahu labeled the U.S. action a “firm measure against the mendacious smear campaign” aimed at Israel.
According to the U.S. State Department, the sanctioning of Judge Guillou stems from his authorizing arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant, while Judge Prost faces sanctions for her involvement in investigations regarding U.S. personnel in Afghanistan. The State Department further indicated that both Khan and Niang had been sanctioned for their “illegitimate actions against Israel.”
The recent penalties mean that any property or interests held by the four officials in the U.S. will be blocked. This round of sanctions follows comparable restrictions previously imposed on the ICC’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan KC, and four other judges earlier in the year.
Moreover, the U.N. human rights chief has called for the withdrawal of the U.S. sanctions against the ICC officials, arguing that such actions counteract respect for the rule of law. In July, the U.S. also imposed sanctions on Francesca Albanese, a U.N. Human Rights Council special rapporteur who has criticized Israel’s military operations in Gaza. Rubio referenced Albanese’s support for the ICC and her involvement in prosecuting American or Israeli nationals as part of the rationale for her sanctioning.
In a response to these developments, Albanese expressed her commitment to the principles of justice, remarking on social media that she comes from Italy, the ICC’s founding country, where individuals have “defended justice at great cost and often with their own life.” She affirmed her intention to uphold that legacy.
ICC ‘deplores’ new US sanctions on its judges and prosecutors
ICC ‘deplores’ new US sanctions on judges and prosecutors. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has accused the court of being “an instrument of lawfare” against the US and Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has welcomed the US move. The ICC has issued arrest warrants against Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity over Israel’s war in Gaza. The US State Department announced new sanctions on two judges and two prosecutors in the ICC for engaging in efforts to prosecute US and Israeli citizens. This latest round of sanctions comes after the US imposed similar restrictions on the ICC’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan KC, and four other judges earlier this year.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has accused the ICC of being “an instrument of lawfare” against the US and Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has welcomed the US move. The ICC has issued arrest warrants against Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity over Israel’s war in Gaza.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused the ICC of being a “national security threat” and “an instrument of lawfare” against the US and Israel.
On Wednesday, the US State Department announced new sanctions on two judges and two prosecutors in the ICC for engaging in efforts to prosecute US and Israeli citizens.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has said it “deplores” new US sanctions on its judges and prosecutors.
France also joined the ICC in denouncing the US move, expressing “dismay” as one of its judges, Nicolas Guillou, was among those sanctioned.
The three other ICC officials named by the US are judge Kimberly Prost of Canada as well as deputy prosecutors Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji and Mame Mandiaye Niang of Senegal.
Rubio condemned the court’s “politcisation, abuse of power, and illegitimate judicial overreach” in a statement announcing the sanctions.
The ICC is a global court with the power to bring prosecutions for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The court called the latest sanctions “a flagrant attack” against its independence and impartiality.
“They constitute also an affront against… the rules-based international order and, above all, millions of innocent victims across the world,” it added.
France’s foreign ministry criticised the sanctions as “in contradiction to the principle of an independent judiciary”, the AFP news agency reported.
Meanwhile, Israeli PM Netanyahu welcomed the decision, calling it a “firm measure against the mendacious smear campaign against” Israel.
According to the US State Department, Gillou is being sanctioned for authorising arrest warrants against Nethanyahu and Gallant.
The US said Prost, the Canadian judge, is sanctioned for an investigation into US personnel in Afghanistan, adding that Khan and Niang are both responsible for “illegitimate actions against Israel”.
The penalties mean any property and interests the four officials hold in the US are blocked.
This latest round of sanctions comes after the US imposed similar restrictions on the ICC’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan KC, along with four other judges earlier this year.
UN’s human rights chief previously demanded the US withdraw its sanctions on the four judges, saying the decision runs directly counter to “respect for the rule law”.
In July, the US also sanctioned UN Human Rights Council special rapporteur Francesca Albanese, who has been a prominent critic of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.
Rubio cited Albanese’s support for the ICC and her participation in the court’s decisions to prosecute American or Israeli nationals as justification for the move.
In response, Albanese reposted support for the ICC on social media, saying she came from the court’s founding country Italy where lawyers and judges had “defended justice at great cost and often with their own life”.
“I intend to honour that tradition,” she added in the post.
Trump admin imposes sanctions on more International Criminal Court officials
The International Criminal Court says the move is a “flagrant attack” on its independence. The U.S. and Israel have been accused of war crimes. The ICC says it will continue to investigate and prosecute the alleged crimes. It says the decision to impose the sanctions was made in the best interests of the court and the U.N. The decision was made by the International Court of Justice, not the United States, which has the power to issue the sanctions, the ICC said in a statement. The move follows a decision in February by President Barack Obama to impose sanctions on four members of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The sanctions were imposed by the United Nations, which is responsible for the ICC’s operations in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
The Trump administration escalated its fight against the International Criminal Court by imposing sanctions on four more court officials involved in work related to alleged Israeli and US war crimes.
In a statement Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the State Department was designating Kimberly Prost of Canada, Nicolas Guillou of France, Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji and Mame Mandiaye Niang of Senegal for their work in the ICC “to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel, without the consent of either nation.”
The sanctions were imposed under an executive order issued by President Donald Trump in February that authorizes punitive measures like sanctions and possible entrance bans on ICC personnel because of its “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.” The executive order was already used to sanction ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan and four ICC judges.
According to a State Department fact sheet, Prost, an ICC judge “is being designated for ruling to authorize the ICC’s investigation into U.S. personnel in Afghanistan.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Guillou, another judge, “is being designated for ruling to authorize the ICC’s issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant,” the fact sheet said.
“Deputy Prosecutors Shameem Khan and Niang are being designated for continuing to support illegitimate ICC actions against Israel, including upholding the ICC’s arrest warrants targeting Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Gallant since they assumed leadership for the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor,” it said.
The ICC slammed the Trump administration for issuing the sanctions, warning the decision amounts to a “flagrant attack” on the institution.
“The International Criminal Court deplores the announcement of new designations for sanctions by the US administration,” the ICC said in a statement.
“These sanctions are a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution,” the ICC added. “The Court stands firmly behind its personnel and victims of unimaginable atrocities.
ADVERTISEMENT
“The ICC will continue fulfilling its mandates, undeterred, in strict accordance with its legal framework as adopted by the States Parties and without regard to any restriction, pressure or threat.”
The ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Gallant in November 2024 for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Trump also signed an executive order authorizing sanctions and visa restrictions for members of the court during his first term in 2020, months after the ICC authorized a probe into alleged war crimes committed in Afghanistan by US and Afghan forces as well as alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Taliban.
Netanyahu lauded the sanctions, calling the move a step towards “truth and justice.”
“This is a firm measure against the mendacious smear campaign against the State of Israel and the IDF, and for truth and justice,” Netanyahu said in a statement on Wednesday.
ADVERTISEMENT
But France urged the US to drop the sanctions as it reaffirmed its “unwavering support” for the judicial institution.
“France calls on the United States to withdraw all sanctions,” France’s foreign ministry said in a statement. “France expresses its solidarity with the judges targeted by this decision and reaffirms its unwavering support for the ICC and its staff. Their role is essential in the fight against impunity.”
This story has been updated with additional details.
CNN’s Tamar Michaelis, Sana Noor Haq and Pierre Bairin contributed reporting.
For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com