'Mafia-like threats’: Netizens decry US sanctions against top ICC judges over Netanyahu arrest warrant

Netizens have condemned US sanctions against senior International Criminal Court (ICC) officials, warning that Washington is seeking to intimidate the court and prevent it from pursuing cases against the US, and its allies.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Tuesday that Washington had sanctioned ICC President Tomoko Akane and Senior Trial Lawyer Abdoulaye Seye over their work at the court.

“Last month, I launched a diplomatic campaign to dismantle the ICC’s threat to our national sovereignty,” Rubio wrote on X.

Human rights lawyer Craig Mokhiber described the move as another “mad pronouncement from a ruthless and tyrannical empire,” calling for international action against Washington’s sanctions.

“Marco Rubio’s mafia-like threats and abuses of power must be confronted with international solidarity,” Mokhiber wrote, urging ICC member states and other countries to block the effects of the sanctions and work to hold those responsible accountable.

UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers Margaret Satterthwaite expressed alarm over the measures, stressing that the officials had been targeted because of their professional work.

“Sanctioning independent judges and lawyers for their work to end impunity and ensure justice for the most grave crimes is a shocking betrayal of the Nuremberg promise,” she wrote, describing the sanctions as a violation of fair-trial and access-to-justice guarantees.

Human rights lawyer Erika Guevara Rosas also denounced the move as an “assault on the international justice system,” saying the sanctions were part of an escalating effort to intimidate the ICC and obstruct accountability.

“These sanctions are not about sovereignty. They are about shielding powerful actors from accountability and punishing those tasked with investigating and prosecuting the gravest crimes under international law,” Guevara Rosas wrote.

Journalist Glenn Greenwald highlighted Washington’s double standard toward the ICC, noting that the US supports the court when its actions serve American foreign-policy interests but seeks to destroy it when its investigations target US allies.

“Genocide Archive” wrote that Washington’s campaign against the ICC was intended to preserve the impunity of the US and its allies, especially the Israeli regime.

Professor of international law Sergey Vasiliev criticized the Netherlands, the ICC’s host country, for stopping short of condemning the sanctions, saying it should take stronger diplomatic and political action to defend the court’s independence.

ITU Accountability, an advocacy group focused on transparency at the International Telecommunication Union, warned that Washington’s pressure on international institutions could extend beyond the ICC and urged the US to respect international law and multilateralism.

In February 2025, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order authorizing sanctions against ICC officials involved in investigations or prosecutions targeting US citizens or allies, including Israeli officials.

The order authorized asset freezes and entry restrictions against targeted officials, while the administration has since expanded its pressure on the court over its investigations into international crimes linked to Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

On November 21, 2024, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Military Affairs Yoav Gallant over war crimes and crimes against humanity during Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza

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