US sanctions ICC president over court’s investigations

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August 18, 2026 8:31 pm

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Credit: BBC

The United States has imposed sanctions on International Criminal Court President, Tomoko Akane, and senior trial lawyer, Abdoulaye Seye, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday, escalating the Trump administration’s campaign against the Hague-based court.
Akane, a Japanese judge who heads the ICC, and Seye, a Senegalese national, were sanctioned under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump last year that authorised sanctions against the court.
“These individuals have directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute officials whose government has not consented to ICC jurisdiction,” Rubio said according to Reuters.
The ICC was established in 2002 by the international community to prosecute war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.
United States is not a member of the court.Make PUNCH part of your everyday experience.Add us to your Preferred Sources
The latest action comes after Washington imposed targeted sanctions last year on several ICC officials, including prosecutors and judges.
The US cited the “court’s arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant,” as well as a previous “ICC investigation into US troops in Afghanistan,” when announcing those sanctions.
The measures freeze any US assets held by the sanctioned individuals and effectively cut them off from the US financial system, with which almost all internationally operating banks have close ties. US urges dialogue between Ethiopia, Eritrea following war fears Trump shares El Salvador prison video, says this is where we send our killers Trump asks Greece ambassador to resign over misconduct allegations
Three ICC judges sued Trump and his administration in June, arguing that the sanctions were unlawful.
The US Treasury Department on Tuesday also issued a general licence allowing transactions involving Akane to be wound down through September 17.
Rubio said last month that the administration would increase its efforts to undermine the ICC, including through a “diplomatic campaign seeking to persuade other countries to withdraw from the institution.”
Rubio argued that the court posed a threat to US personnel involved in Trump’s hardline immigration policies and strikes on boats accused of carrying drugs, as well as other U.S. service members.
Trump has said the campaign was aimed at defending Netanyahu and others from prosecution, rather than Trump himself.
The United States has never been a member of the ICC. The court asserts jurisdiction only if a member state is unable or unwilling to prosecute atrocities itself.

However, the ICC statute also gives the court the power to prosecute atrocity crimes committed on the territory of member states by nationals of non-member states.

Tosin Oyediran
Tosin Oyediran is a journalist with Punch Newspapers, bringing over eight years of newsroom experience to his coverage of politics, health, advocacy, sports, and entertainment. Known for sharp interviews and human-centered reporting, his work focuses on public accountability, civic issues, and the stories shaping everyday lives.

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