In June 2020, the US imposed sanctions on Fatou Bensouda. Within weeks, Bensouda found that banks were closing her accounts and cancelling her credit cards. Even her relatives had assets frozen as banks attempted to comply with the rules set by the US Treasury.
What was Bensouda’s alleged transgression? Was she a terrorist? A human rights abuser? A corrupt foreign official?
No, she was the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC). And the sanctions were imposed on her for doing the job she was appointed to do.
The ICC sits in a grand building in The Hague, the administrative capital of the Netherlands. It is backed by 123 other nations, including US allies all over the world. Bensouda’s office is designed to prosecute major crimes, including war crimes,…
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Sunday Independent (Digital) - 1 Issue, 2023-03-19