News / Palestine / Foreign Policy

ICC prosecutor condemns US for equating court judges with terrorists, drug traffickers

Saturday, 06 December 2025 6:54 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 06 December 2025 6:54 AM ]

The International Criminal Court (ICC) deputy prosecutor, Mame Mandiaye Niang (File photo)

The ICC deputy prosecutor has sharply criticized the US government for sanctioning the international court’s judges, a move he said mirrors how Washington targets terrorists and drug traffickers.

Mame Mandiaye Niang denounced the administration of US President Donald Trump on Monday, saying, “You can disagree with what we are doing. That happens all the time … But even if we upset you, you should never put us on the same list as terrorists or drug traffickers. That is the message [to Trump].”

Niang, along with senior ICC judges, is subject to sanctions from the Trump administration in retaliation for the court issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Military Affairs Yoav Gallant over Israel's genocidal war on Gaza.

On November 21, 2024, after investigating war crimes and crimes against humanity, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts during the Gaza genocide.

Sanctions have a place in international relations, Niang said, but targeting the ICC, the world’s only permanent court tasked with prosecuting grave offenses, risks “de-legitimizing” an essential institution.

He added that it is troubling that arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant have not brought the suspects before the court.

The ICC has no police force and relies on member states to detain suspects and transfer them to the Hague.

Iran tells The Hague unilateral sanctions amount to ‘crimes against humanity’

Abbas Bagherpour, head of the Iranian delegation at the Assembly of States Parties to the ICC, has described unilateral sanctions as "crimes against humanity."

Nevertheless, Niang pointed to an unprecedented hearing against Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony earlier this year, conducted in absentia.

“We tested it in the Kony case. It is a cumbersome process. But we tried it, and we realized it was possible and useful,” Niang said.

Such a hearing helps preserve evidence against war criminals and allows victims to share their experiences, he said.

However, any request for such a proceeding requires judicial approval and would not constitute a full trial, only a confirmation of charges.

Despite the pressure facing the court, Niang said the ICC is prepared to confront these challenges, stating, “At this time when our existence is under threat, the world needs us more than ever.”

Mass atrocities are being committed daily, and the court stands to prosecute those responsible, said the Senegalese jurist.

“The court is here and we would love for it not to be needed. Unfortunately, the world is as it is and we still have work to do.”

Since Israel launched its genocidal assault on Gaza on October 7, 2023, it has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians and injured more than 171,000 others, most of them women and children.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir