The man who sought the arrest of Benjamin Netanyahu and Vladimir Putin is now under investigation himself. Karim Khan, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, has been suspended over allegations of sexual harassment - a case that calls into question the credibility of the world's most powerful institution for war crimes.

The allegations aren't from yesterday. Back in 2024, a close associate accused Khan of harassing her over an extended period and allegedly coercing her into sexual acts. The UN's internal oversight office completed an investigation and submitted its findings in December 2025, but the report remains confidential, as does the opinion of the three-member judicial panel that reviewed it. Khan, who is 56, denies the allegations and wants to return to his post once the case is cleared up.

The timing is anything but innocent. Since 2021, Khan has issued arrest warrants against Netanyahu, Putin and others - moves that prompted the US to put heavy pressure on the court and impose sanctions on its staff and judges. When a prosecutor who goes after prime ministers and presidents suddenly falls over a scandal, the question always remains how much of it is justice and how much is politics.

The final decision on Khan's fate will be taken by the member states at a special session. Only 125 countries have signed the court's founding treaty, among them all EU members - but not the US, Russia and Israel, precisely the three countries whose leaders have the most reason to want this court weak. Regardless of whether the allegations are true, they come at a moment when many of the powerful have long dreamed of seeing the prosecutor removed.