the news now

The world's news, cross-checked among reputable sources.

This is a new development in a story we have covered before · earlier coverage

United States Imposes Sanctions on ICC President and Senior Trial Lawyer

20 sources across 16 countries · 1 of them is linked to a state

Who reported this

  • CNN United States · Centre-left · Warner Bros. Discovery
  • Al-Monitor United States · Centre · Jamal Daniel
  • Associated Press United States · Centre · Non-profit news cooperative
  • Le Monde France · Centre-left · Fonds pour l'independance de la presse
  • France 24 France · Centre · Public · France Medias Monde (French state holding)
  • The Guardian United Kingdom · Centre-left · Scott Trust Limited
  • Reuters United Kingdom · Centre · Thomson Reuters Corporation
  • Infobae Argentina · Centre-right · Daniel Hadad
  • The Daily Star Bangladesh · Centre · Mediaworld Ltd
  • Politico Europe Belgium · Centre · Axel Springer SE
  • La Tercera Chile · Centre-right · Copesa (Saieh family)
  • Deutsche Welle Germany · Centre · Public · German federal public-law corporation
  • South China Morning Post Hong Kong · Centre-right · Alibaba Group
  • The Jerusalem Post Israel · Centre-right · Mirkaei Tikshoret (Eli Azur)
  • Kyodo News Japan · Centre · Non-profit publisher cooperative
  • NRC Netherlands · Centre · Mediahuis
  • Rappler Philippines · Centre-left · Rappler Inc, staff-held
  • Al Jazeera Qatar · Centre-left · State-affiliated · Qatari government funded
  • Daily Maverick South Africa · Centre-left · Reader-funded
  • The Korea Herald South Korea · Centre-right · Herald Corporation (Yeongpoong Group)

What the colours mean

  • Left
  • Centre-left
  • Centre
  • Centre-right
  • Right
  • A hatched block means the outlet is affiliated with, or controlled by, a state.

Political lean describes where an outlet sits within the politics of its own country. It is never a position on a single global scale.

Political lean is comparable inside one country and not across them, which is why the bar groups by country first. Publicly funded broadcasters are not marked as state-linked.

The owner of each outlet is listed as a matter of record, not as a judgement about the outlet.

The United States imposed sanctions on Tuesday against International Criminal Court (ICC) President Tomoko Akane and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the measures, stating that the individuals engaged in efforts to investigate or prosecute officials from governments that did not consent to the court's jurisdiction. The sanctions freeze any U.S. assets held by the individuals and restrict their access to the U.S. financial system. The U.S. Treasury Department issued a general license allowing for the wind down of transactions involving Akane and Seye through September 17.

The ICC condemned the move, stating that the sanctions undermine the rule of law and place the international legal order at risk. Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen expressed disapproval of the sanctions, asserting that international tribunals must be able to carry out their mandates freely. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the action, calling the ICC a kangaroo court and commending the Trump administration for its efforts against the institution.

This action is part of a broader campaign by the Trump administration to undermine the ICC, which the U.S. is not a member of. Rubio described the ICC as a corrupt and fatally politicized supranational court. He argued that the court poses a threat to U.S. personnel, including those implementing hardline immigration policies or conducting drug interdiction strikes. Other sources note that the sanctions are largely a response to ICC investigations into alleged war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza, for which the court sought arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Legal challenges have followed these measures. Three ICC judges sued the administration in June, and four human rights groups filed a separate lawsuit arguing that the sanctions block victims of war crimes from seeking justice. The U.S. has also conducted a diplomatic campaign to persuade other countries to leave the ICC, a call that has been heeded by at least five nations, including Chad and Venezuela.

How each side framed it

Centre-left
These outlets emphasized the threat to the international rule of law and the role of the sanctions in shielding Israeli officials from justice.
Centre
These outlets focused on the factual details of the sanctions and the conflicting statements from the U.S. and the ICC.
Centre-right
These outlets highlighted the U.S. perspective on the ICC as a politicized body and included more praise from Benjamin Netanyahu.

Sources

100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.