Woman accusing ICC prosecutor of sexual misconduct rejects claims she acted for Israel
Khan and some of his defenders have claimed that the allegations were part of a conspiracy to undermine him over his decision to seek arrest warrants against senior Israeli officials
The woman who accused International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan of sexual misconduct has publicly rejected claims that she was acting on behalf of Israel, saying her complaint was based solely on his alleged behavior.
Speaking for the first time in an exclusive CNN interview, the woman, identified only as Sarah, said suggestions that she was an Israeli agent were false.
“If ever there was even a hint of suspicion that I was a state agent of any kind, I would have been dismissed,” said Sarah, a Malaysian lawyer who has worked at the ICC since 2017 and remains employed by the court.
Khan and some of his defenders have claimed that the allegations were part of a conspiracy to undermine him over his decision to seek arrest warrants against senior Israeli officials.
However, a UN oversight report cited by CNN said several credible witnesses rejected the allegation that Sarah was a spy. One ICC employee reportedly described the claim that she was working for Israel as “a load of bull.”
Sarah also rejected any suggestion that she opposed the court’s cases against Israel. While declining to discuss specific proceedings, she said she “fully and entirely” supported the ICC’s investigations.
She told CNN that Khan’s alleged misconduct began after she became his assistant in February 2023 and escalated gradually over the following year.
“There was the pawing, the physical nature of it — but it didn’t start that way,” she said, describing what she called repeated encroachments on her physical and emotional boundaries.
Sarah said she sometimes froze and feared that rejecting Khan could cost her job, income and the work visa allowing her to live in the Netherlands with her husband and son.
A second woman, identified as Patricia, also accused Khan of sexual misconduct dating back to 2009, when she was an unpaid intern on his team. She said he repeatedly tried to touch and kiss her after asking her to work from his home. Khan has denied her claims as well.