EU comes out in defense of the ICC that denounced “intimidation” against its officials | International Criminal Court

The European Commission defended on Saturday the independence of the International Criminal Court (ICC), after it denounced on Friday attempts to “interference” in the progress of investigations and “intimidation” against its employees.

“The EU supports the protection of the independence of the ICC and the integrity of the Rome Statute. Threats against the court and its staff are unacceptable,” said European Union Foreign and Security Policy Spokesperson Peter Stano, in a message published on the social network X.

The ICC’s unusually strong statement denounced attempts to “interfere, block, intimidate or inappropriately influence” the work of its staff and called for an end to threats that could compromise the court’s “impartiality and independence”.

The court made this statement without directly referring to Israel, whose prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, could be the target of an international arrest warrant as part of an ICC investigation into possible war crimes in the Gaza Strip, according to the North American and Israeli press over the weekend.

The ICC warns that threats “may constitute an offense under Article 70.” A provision that explicitly prohibits both “retaliation against a court official because of duties performed by him or another official” and “intimidation, impediment or corrupt influence on senior court officials with the intention of forcing or persuading them not to perform their duties or to perform them improperly,” he said.

While it is true that the statement does not mention either Israel or Netanyahu, the truth is that the head of the Israeli Government went public to denounce an alleged attempt by the ICC to prevent Israelis from exercising their “legitimate right of defense”, classifying it as an It is a “historical scandal” that the ICC could take action against Israeli political and military officials because of the deaths in Gaza.

The ICC Prosecutor’s office on Friday condemned attempts to “interfere, block, intimidate or inappropriately influence” the work of its staff and called for an end to threats that could compromise the “impartiality and independence” of the court.

“When there are people who threaten to take reprisals against the court or its officials in the event of the adoption of decisions on investigations or cases within their competence, independence and impartiality are called into question”, declared the ICC in a statement.

“We are aware that the prosecutor’s investigations arouse great public interest and we appreciate the comments, communication and concern, as well as the participation of officials, NGOs, academics and activists”, says the text.

The ICC emphasizes that it seeks to “introduce a constructive dialogue with all interested parties whenever it is compatible with the mandate given to it by the Rome Statute”.

At the end of last year, after visiting Israel and meeting with families of victims of the Hamas attacks and meeting with officials from the Palestinian Authority, the ICC’s attorney general, the British Karim Khan, was accused of partiality for the side Palestinian on the issue of the war in Gaza, after having stated that the attacks by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas against “innocent Israeli civilians”, on October 7, “constitute some of the most serious international crimes” ever.