International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan, who oversaw the court's arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in March 2023 over Moscow's deportation of Ukrainian children, was named in the U.S.' as-of-now nonpublic economic and travel sanctions list, Reuters reported on Feb. 7.
British national Khan is the first to be targeted under the sanctions authorized by newly inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump that "target the war crimes tribunal over investigations of U.S. citizens or U.S. allies," Reuters reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter. In its report, it said, citing sources including a senior ICC official, that Khan was named in the executive order that Trump signed on Feb. 6.
Russia included Khan on a wanted list in 2023 after the ICC issued arrest warrants for Putin and another Russian official, Maria Lvova-Belova, for "unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation."
The Ukrainian Parliament’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, estimates that Russia has unlawfully deported up to 150,000 Ukrainian children, while the Children’s Ombudswoman, Daria Herasymchuk, puts the figure at 200,000–300,000.
Khan's sanctions would mean prohibiting him and his family from entering the U.S., as well as the freezing of their U.S. assets.
Khan's regular trips to the U.S. to brief the United Nations Security Council are part of the U.N.-Washington agreement, according to Reuters.
Olena Goncharova
