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Pompeo Sanctions International Criminal Court Officials To Stop Investigation Into War Crimes
Worst Secretary of State in history and all around horrible person Mike Pompeo has sanctioned two International Criminal Court officials in an insanely corrupt attempt to deter an ICC investigation into possible war crimes by US military and intelligence officials.
The Trump Administration has leveled sanctions against the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor, who is investigating allegations that U.S. troops committed war crimes in Afghanistan. Human rights groups swiftly decried the sanctions as an attack on international justice.
The sanctions are directed at Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and the court's head of jurisdiction Phakiso Mochochoko who were both added to the Treasury Department's "Specially Designated Nationals" list. The designation freezes any assets they might have in the U.S. or subject to U.S. law.
The International Criminal Court prosecutes war criminals, terrorists and human rights abusers, but Trump and Pompeo imposed sanctions on the court’s staff. They can’t tell the difference between those accused of crimes and those trying to bring them to justice.
In March, the ICC moved forward with its investigation into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in Afghanistan, including those allegedly committed by U.S. forces and the CIA....
... the ICC authorized a probe into alleged war crimes committed in Afghanistan by US and Afghan forces as well as alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Taliban.
Trump officials... rejected the authority of the ICC... had taken steps meant to deter the investigation, including revoking Bensouda's entry visa last year.
Brought to us by the “law and order” Trump administration. How utterly embarrassing and devastating to assert the United States as above the law
Human Rights Watch says the sanctions will have a serious impact on Bensouda and Mochochoko, "who not only lose access to their assets in the US but are also cut off from commercial and financial dealings with 'US persons,' including banks and other companies.
US sanctions also have a chilling effect on non-US banks and other companies outside of US jurisdiction who fear losing access themselves to the US banking system if they do not help the US to effectively export the sanctions measures."
"The Trump administration's perverse use of sanctions, devised for alleged terrorists and drug kingpins, against prosecutors seeking justice for grave international crimes, magnifies the failure of the US to prosecute torture," Richard Dicker, international justice director at Human Right Watch, said in a statement.
Sources:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/02/politics/us-icc-sanctions/index.html