Iran Press/America: President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday authorizing sanctions on International Criminal Court officials who are investigating American troops and intelligence officials for alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.
The move affects anyone who the US believes has “directly engaged in any effort by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute any personnel of a country that is an ally of the United States without the consent of that country’s government,” according to the order.
In March, the ICC issued a ruling that its chief prosecutor could investigate allegations of war crimes in Afghanistan, including by US troops, Bloomberg reported.
At the time, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called it a “truly breathtaking action by an unaccountable, political institution masquerading as a legal body.”
The US Isn’t a party to the ICC although the Obama administration cooperated with the body. That ended with the start of the Trump administration, with then-National Security Advisor John Bolton calling the court “ineffective, unaccountable, and indeed, outright dangerous.”
In the time since, Pompeo has repeatedly blasted the body and repeatedly threatened sanctions against the chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, and others who work on the Afghanistan case.
The executive order comes ahead of a press briefing at 10:15 a.m. by Pompeo, Attorney General William Barr, Defense Secretary Mark Esper, and National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien.
214
Read More:
Trump administration threatens International Criminal Court with sanctions
