THE HAGUE: The International Criminal Court slammed sanctions Friday slapped by US President Donald Trump over its probes targeting America and Israel and pledged to press on with its aim to fight for “justice and hope” around the world.
The United Nations and the European Union also urged Trump on Friday to reverse the decision ordering asset freezes and travel bans against ICC officials, employees and their family members, along with anyone deemed to have helped the court’s investigations.
The sanctions could impact the court’s technical and IT operations, including evidence gathering. There are fears victims of alleged atrocities may hesitate to come forward.
Trump signed an executive order Thursday saying the court in The Hague had “abused its power” by issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who held talks with the US president on Tuesday.
The ICC said the move sought to “harm its independent and impartial judicial work.”
“The Court stands firmly by its personnel and pledges to continue providing justice and hope to millions of innocent victims of atrocities across the world,” it said.
The United Nations said it deeply regretted Trump’s decision and urged him to reverse the move.
“The court should be fully able to undertake its independent work — where a state is unwilling or unable genuinely to carry out the investigation or prosecution,” UN human rights office OHCHR spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told AFP in an email.
“The rule of law remains essential to our collective peace and security. Seeking accountability globally makes the world a safer place for everyone.”
Antonio Costa, who heads the European Council representing the EU’s 27 member states, wrote on X that the move “undermines the international criminal justice system.”
The European Commission separately expressed “regret,” stressing the ICC’s “key importance in upholding international criminal justice and the fight against impunity.”
The executive order risks “affecting ongoing investigations and proceedings, including as regards Ukraine, impacting years of efforts to ensure accountability around the world,” said a commission spokesman.
The names of the individuals affected by the sanctions were not immediately released, but previous US sanctions under Trump had targeted the court’s prosecutor.
Trump’s order said the tribunal had engaged in “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel,” referring to ICC probes into alleged war crimes by US service members in Afghanistan and Israeli troops in Gaza.
Israel’s foreign minister applauded Trump, calling the court’s actions against Israel illegitimate.
“I strongly commend @POTUS President Trump’s executive order imposing sanctions on the so-called ‘international criminal court’,” Gideon Saar wrote on X, adding that the ICC’s actions were “immoral and have no legal basis.”
Neither the United States nor Israel are members of the court.
Following a request by ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, judges issued arrest warrants on November 21 for Netanyahu, his former defense minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas’s military chief Mohammed Deif — whom Israel says is dead.
The court said it had found “reasonable grounds” to believe Netanyahu and Gallant bore “criminal responsibility” for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare during the Gaza war, as well as the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.
Netanyahu has accused the court of anti-Semitism.
During his first term, Trump imposed financial sanctions and a visa ban on the ICC’s then prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, and other senior officials and staff in 2020.
His administration made the move after Gambian-born Bensouda launched an investigation into allegations of war crimes against US soldiers in Afghanistan.
While his order at the time did not name Israel, Trump administration officials said they were also angered by Bensouda’s opening of a probe into the situation in the Palestinian territories in 2019.
President Joe Biden lifted the sanctions soon after taking office in 2021.
Prosecutor Khan later effectively dropped the US from the Afghan investigation and focused on the Taliban instead.
Biden strongly condemned the “outrageous” warrant against Netanyahu in November.
Trump condemned for ICC sanctions over Israel, US probes
https://arab.news/2nyz7
Trump condemned for ICC sanctions over Israel, US probes
- The sanctions could impact the court’s technical and IT operations, including evidence gathering
- There are fears victims of alleged atrocities may hesitate to come forward
FBI foils Daesh-inspired New Year’s Eve attack plot
- Christian Sturdivant,18, charged with attempting to provide material support to foreign terrorist organization
- Investigators say he shared plans for the attack with an undercover FBI employee
CHARLOTTE, United States: The FBI said Friday it disrupted a New Year’s Eve attack plot targeting a grocery store and fast-food restaurant in North Carolina, arresting an 18-year-old man who authorities say pledged loyalty to the Daesh group.
Christian Sturdivant was charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization after investigators say he shared plans for the attack with an undercover FBI employee posing as a supportive confidant.
Sturdivant was arrested Wednesday and remained in custody after a federal court appearance Friday. An attorney representing him Friday did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Another hearing was scheduled for Jan. 7.
The alleged attack would have taken place one year after 14 people were killed in New Orleans by a US citizen and Army veteran who had proclaimed his support for Daesh on social media.
The FBI has foiled several alleged attacks through sting operations in which agents posed as terror supporters, supplying advice and equipment. Critics say the strategy can amount to entrapment of mentally vulnerable people who wouldn’t have the wherewithal to act alone.
Searches of Sturdivant’s home and phone uncovered what investigators described as a manifesto detailing plans for an attack with knives and a hammer, FBI Special Agent in Charge James Barnacle said at a news conference Friday.
“He was willing to sacrifice himself,” Barnacle said.
US Attorney for western North Carolina Russ Ferguson said the planned attack in Mint Hill, a bedroom community near Charlotte, targeted “places that we go every day and don’t think that we may be harmed.”
Worried he might attempt violence before New Year’s Eve, the FBI placed Sturdivant under constant surveillance for days, including on Christmas, Ferguson said. Agents were prepared to arrest him earlier if he left his home with weapons, he said. “At no point was the public in harm’s way.”
The fact that Sturdivant encountered two undercover officers while allegedly planning the attack should reassure the public, Ferguson said. He declined to identify the grocery store and restaurant cited in the complaint, citing the ongoing investigation.
If convicted, Sturdivant faces up to 20 years in prison, according to court documents.
An FBI affidavit says the investigation began last month after authorities linked Sturdivant to a social media account that posted content supportive of Daesh, including imagery that appeared to promote violence. The account’s display name referenced Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, the former leader of the extremist group.
Some experts argue that Daesh is powerful today partly as a brand, inspiring both militant groups and individuals in attacks that the group itself may have no real role in.
The affidavit says Sturdivant had been on the FBI’s radar in January 2022, when he was a minor, after officials learned that he had been in contact with a person in Europe the FBI says was an Daesh member, and had received instructions to dress in black, knock on people’s doors and commit attacks with a hammer.
At that time, Sturdivant did actually set out for a neighbor’s house armed with a hammer and a knife but was restrained by his grandfather, the affidavit says.
The FBI in Los Angeles last month announced the disruption of a separate New Year’s Eve plot, arresting members of an extremist anti-capitalist and anti-government group who federal officials said planned to bomb multiple sites in southern California.
Other Daesh-inspired attacks over the past decade include a 2015 shooting rampage by a husband-and-wife team who killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, and a 2016 massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, by a gunman who fatally shot 49 people.
