ICC Chief Prosector Faces Serious Sexual Allegations

Summary

Podcast Summary: Amanpour — “ICC Chief Prosecutor Faces Serious Sexual Allegations”

Host: Christiane Amanpour (CNN)
Date: July 16, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode presents a world exclusive interview with “Sarah,” the main accuser of International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan, who faces serious sexual misconduct allegations. It also features the account of a second accuser and a response interview with Khan’s lead counsel. The discussion covers the background of the allegations, the investigation process, personal and institutional impacts, and the broader implications for the ICC—especially as member states prepare to vote on Khan’s future.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Background and Scope of the Allegations

• Karim Khan: ICC Chief Prosecutor, recently suspended after an internal investigation found evidence supporting allegations of sexual misconduct from a staff member (Sarah).
• The Accuser: Sarah, a Malaysian ICC employee since 2017, speaks publicly for the first time, recounting her experience.
• Investigation Findings: A UN oversight report (OIOS) found evidence for her claims, though a panel of judges said it failed to meet the threshold of “beyond reasonable doubt” for misconduct. An executive body of member states suspended Khan, with a full member vote scheduled.

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2. Sarah’s Story: Personal Narrative

[04:45] – [43:24]

Early Motivation & ICC Career

• Sarah describes being drawn to international law and the ICC from a young age due to its mission for global justice.
  “The year that I moved to Singapore was 1998, when the Rome Statute…was signed. The International Criminal Court had just been established, and it was everything that appealed to me.” — Sarah [04:45]

Role at ICC

• Started as an intern in 2017 under then-Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda; later became a direct special assistant to Khan.
  “My job was essentially to perform any task that Mr. Khan needed…I would be one of four people in his immediate team.” — Sarah [06:49]

Alleged Misconduct and Context

• Describes Khan’s allegedly escalating boundary violations in a high-pressure, crisis-driven workplace.
• Emphasizes the power imbalance, making consent impossible in her view:
  “There is no way for something to be consensual when you have such a power disparity…He was everyone’s bosses, and it cannot be consensual.” — Sarah [11:05]

Specific Incident: Colombia Mission

• Details an alleged assault during a work trip:
  “Mr. Khan called me and said there was a text message I needed to look at…He came to my room, and I pretended to be asleep…He started to put his hand down my leggings to grope me, to put his tongue in my ear. I didn’t move an inch…if you believe someone to be asleep, that is not consent.” — [13:22 – 16:24]

Internal Responses and Impact

• Sarah struggled with whether to report, fearing career and visa ramifications and personal repercussions.
  “I am under a visa of the court…if I lose my job, I have…two weeks to leave the EU, which means leaving my son and my husband.” — [22:49]

Reaction to Denials & “Consent”

• Recounts disclosing distress, warning Khan she might harm herself if the behavior continued:
  “I clearly told him, if this continues, I might harm myself.” — [11:57]

Repercussions and Motivations

• Never wanted a public investigation; kept up professional (sometimes friendly) communications with Khan during period of alleged abuse, to avoid antagonizing her powerful boss and to “evade his physical advances” [27:38].
• Sarah's coming forward has been conflated with geopolitics, including rumors of her being a Mossad agent, which she firmly denies:
  “To work at the court, you have to undergo multiple security clearances…I continue to be a staff member…That’s a huge security risk, if true [that I were a state agent].” — [31:47]

On the ICC and Institutional Legitimacy

• Stresses that the institution’s legitimacy is not tied to “one man” and that responding transparently to complaints adds, rather than detracts from, the ICC’s mission:
  “The legitimacy of the court should not stand on the reputation of any one man…This is not a spectacle… what the court and other institutions do with such a complaint adds to its legitimacy.” — [42:02]

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3. Second Accuser: Testimony (Anonymous)

[43:35] – [45:18]

• Accuses Khan of repeated sexual harassment dating back to 2009, including groping and advances at his house and in the office.
• Describes feeling isolated and only coming forward after learning of Sarah’s complaint:
  “Every time I was there, it was a constant onslaught of him coming on to me, groping me, grabbing me, kissing my face, trying to get me to engage in intimate activity with him, which I constantly had to bat off.” — [44:11]

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4. Khan’s Legal Team Response

[46:43] – [54:49]

Lead Counsel: Sarita Ashraf

On Process and Investigation

• Stresses that a panel of independent judges found that the evidence did not meet the threshold for establishing misconduct.
• Criticizes the Bureau’s decision to contradict the judges as “extraordinary.”
• Emphasizes the difference between the OIOS report (investigative finding) and the panel of judges (legal finding), suggesting the public is only seeing part of a much larger evidentiary record.
  “You’re looking at a very small sliver of evidence against a much larger body of evidence, all of which the judges took into account.” — [49:26]

Regarding the Allegations

• Asserts that Khan “denies them in their entirety, any form of sexual contact, relationship, consensual or non-consensual.”
• On accuser’s mental health disclosure: “No medical evidence was presented…Mr. Khan does not recollect ever being informed of that.” [51:18]
• On timing and politicization:
  “We are obviously concerned at the timing of this coming out. It does create pressure. In an environment which has become more political than legal…the decision to come on and present one part of a much larger overall picture risks putting a thumb on the scales of the vote.” — [52:23]

On Lobbying Ahead of Vote

• Ashraf confirms they are contacting member states to clarify evidence, not to lobby but to provide information.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Sarah, on the meaning of reporting:
  “There are thousands of women who will never have the opportunity to sit with you. And this is not unique to my circumstances… What I want out of this is at the very least, for people to consider the various ways in which we deflect from legitimate allegations.” — [38:46]

• On institutional reform:
  “The fact that it [the ICC] continues to try to improve itself will only contribute to its strength going forward.” — Sarah [43:10]

• Khan’s reported response upon learning of allegations:
  “According to this individual, Mr. Khan’s face went white…he apparently said, ‘I’m finished. I’ll need to resign. I’m not strong enough for this.’” — [23:55]

• Christiane Amanpour, summing up the confluence of geopolitical and personal interests:
  “Two things are true or can be true: that you have allegations which you’ve made internally to them, and that Israel and its supporters have also tried to weaponize this, your allegations, because of this indictment.” — [32:46]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [04:45] Sarah’s background, role, and initial impressions of Khan
• [07:28] Beginning of the detailed allegations
• [13:22] Colombia hotel incident recounted in detail
• [16:24] Discussion of consent, power dynamics, and Khan’s denials
• [22:49] Sarah’s visa situation and fear of repercussions
• [27:14] Analysis of birthday card, continued correspondence with Khan
• [29:09] Conflation with ICC’s Israeli warrant and “state agent” rumors
• [34:17] Contradictory findings in investigative reports
• [38:46] Sarah’s reason for speaking out, impact of anonymity, and broader message
• [42:02] Thoughts on ICC’s reputation, institutional legitimacy
• [43:35] Second accuser’s statement and details
• [46:43] Interview with Khan’s lead counsel: legal process, evidentiary standards, response to accusations
• [49:26] Legal counsel defends procedural legitimacy and Khan’s denials
• [54:15] On interactions with member states ahead of the vote

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Conclusion

This powerful episode provides unparalleled insight into the most significant crisis ever faced by the ICC, from the perspective of an insider-accuser, a corroborating accuser, and the defense. It raises acute questions regarding power, institutional accountability, justice, and the collision of legal process with global political realities. With the ICC’s own future and credibility hanging in the balance, the testimony and debate presented here will shape international perceptions regardless of the July 24th outcome.

Transcript

[Narrator/Intro Voice]

Foreign

[Interviewer 1]

hello, everyone, and welcome to Amanpour. Here's what's coming up. Sharing her story. The woman who accuses the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, of sexual misconduct goes public after a lengthy UN investigation. Khan denies all allegations and the ICC member states are preparing to vote on his face. Now, for the first time, his accuser gives me her account of what happened and how it's impacted her and that these allegations have nothing to do with the ICC arrest warrants for Israel's Prime Minister and Defense Minister. Then we hear from a second accuser. She says Khan sexually harassed her in 2009. He denies that too. We will also hear from Karim Khan's lead counsel. Welcome to the program, everyone. I'm Christiana Manpour. In Light in London. Tonight, a world exclusive. The International Criminal Court, whose mission is global justice and accountability for, faces serious allegations against its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan. And his accuser sits down with us to tell her side of the story for the first time publicly. For months, the UN's oversight office, known as the OIOS, investigated claims by this employee at the ICC that Khan sexually harassed her and subjected her to non consensual sexual acts. We've obtained a copy of that report which states that they, quote, found evidence showing a factual basis to her claims against Mr. Khan. Khan denies all the allegations and says it's the finding of a later judgment, one from a three judge panel, that really matters. That panel found the report does not disprove her allegations of misconduct, but says the evidence doesn't meet the legal threshold of beyond a reasonable doubt. According to the New York Times. Following this, an executive body made up of 21 member states reached its conclusion and suspended Karim Khan from his duties as Chief prosecutor. And Next Friday, all 125 ICC member states will vote on whether Khan should be dismissed. It's a moment of crisis for the court. In May 2024, Khan broke the news on this program that he was seeking arrest warrants for Israel' minister and Defense Minister for crimes committed over the war in Gaza, as well as for Hamas officials for their crimes. On and around October 7, the reaction from the US and Israel was furious. And members of the court have since been subjected to sanctions and restrictions by the United States, a pressure campaign that's ongoing. Just this week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio vowed to dismantle the icc. Brick by bric. It was during this pressure campaign that allegations of sexual misconduct against Khan first emerged. But crucially, the allegations made by the woman at the heart of this story are unconnected to the ICC's arrest warrants for top Israeli officials, the ICC report found. Though many have tried to conflate the two, some supporters of Khan going so far as to falsely accuse her of working at Israel's behest, even against being a Mossad agent attempting to discredit him and his war crimes case. Karim Khan has spoken publicly in recent weeks in interviews and addresses, denying the allegations against him. And tonight we hear from the woman accusing him. Her name is Sarah. She's asked us not to broadcast her last name. She's worked at the ICC since 2017 and is still employed there. She says she never wanted to be in this position and that it's still difficult for her to talk about it. Now, we do want to warn you that the accusations you hear may be triggering, especially for survivors of sexual assault. Here is our interview.

[Christiana Amanpour]

Sarah, thank you for being here. Can I just start at the beginning? I just would like you to tell me a little bit about how you came to international law, this field. What motivated you?

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

First of all, I'm from Malaysia. I'm Malay and Muslim. And When I was 11, my mom and I moved to Singapore and I attended a school called United World College. And actually, the year that I moved to Singapore was 1998, when the Rome Statute, which is kind of the founding document of the International Criminal Court, was signed. And the International Criminal Court had just been established, and it was everything that appealed to me.

[Interviewer 1]

When did you first join?

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

2017, end of 2017, as an intern, and I joined Fatu Bensouda's immediate office.

[Christiana Amanpour]

She was the chief prosecutor then.

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

That's correct, yes.

[Christiana Amanpour]

And she has said that you were a really very motivated, very capable, very diligent worker. What was exactly your position there?

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

I was maybe the oldest intern. I started off as an intern at the court, and I did essentially anything that was asked of me in the immediate office, and that could be drafting speeches, and I would be there to assist in any way possible.

[Christiana Amanpour]

So after that period of time with Fatou Bensouda, then Kerim Khan takes over when her term is over.

[Narrator/Intro Voice]

Correct.

[Christiana Amanpour]

What was your first impressions of him? Because you were in his office in that floor?

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

I was still in the legal advisory section, actually. I fully supported his election as prosecutor.

[Christiana Amanpour]

Why?

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

He spoke about workplace culture, amongst many other things, and I agreed with many of his points of view, and I thought he would be a good prosecutor.

[Christiana Amanpour]

What was the actual job? What did it entail?

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

The direct special assistant role was to essentially perform any task that Mr. Khan needed. And during my Interviews. I was asked repeatedly, are you willing to go on all missions with Mr. Khan? They highlighted the fact that you have a child. Would that be something that's still possible? It would be preparing his briefing notes. I would be one of four people in his immediate team. And so essentially, anything that Mr. Khan needed, we would be executing.

[Christiana Amanpour]

And you were amenable to that? You said, yes, yes, yes. So now come the beginnings of the allegations. According to the reports that we have obtained, you allege that Mr. Khan became, quote, more poi.

[Interviewer 1]

More poy.

[Christiana Amanpour]

And aggressive, touching your breast, genital area, pulling you towards his crotch, eventually digitally and genitally painful, penetrating you. These are all allegations that he denies. Can you tell me about some of that?

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

First of all, I can't speak about

[Sarita Ashraf (Karim Khan's Lead Counsel)]

what

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

I told the OIOS investigators, and I'm not going to comment on the report itself, but I can speak to my own experiences. The first thing that I would have to say is that this did not happen in isolation. This was an environment where we were always on the move. There was always a crisis, because that is what happens at the court. You have to deal with multiple things, and it's also very emotional work that you're doing. Mr. Khan himself, in my experience, was a very reactive individual. And he could go from being fine and collaborative to angry, for example, at criticism in social media. And there would be this rage. And so you kind of always felt like the ground was shifting under you. And there was a. I have no other way to describe it, but an escalation of attempts. And so that escalation was happening in this environment where you are trying desperately to almost emotionally regulate Mr. Khan. And as I would describe it, the pawing, the physical nature of it. But it didn't start that way because it was kind of like encroachments on the boundaries slowly, not just physically, but emotionally as well.

[Christiana Amanpour]

Can I just read some of what I know you can't comment on the actual report, but we've seen the actual report. He maintains that he never engaged in any conduct with you that could be construed as inappropriate, unwelcome, or abusive. He also said that you did not express in any fashion that you found any conduct or interaction unwelcome or inappropriate. And recently you've seen, and many people have seen, he did a public interview with Mehdi Hassan on Zateo in which he categorically denied having any kind of relationship with you. I know you can't talk about the report, but what do you say to those denials?

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

There's Many ways in which I can answer this. The first thing that I would say is that there is no way for something to be consensual when you have such a power disparity. What I think many people don't understand is that Mr. Khan was not just my boss. He was everyone's bosses. He is the boss of all bosses, and it cannot be consensual. I will give you two examples. One is there was a point in time when I said to Mr. Khan that if this continued, I was afraid that I might do something to myself.

[Christiana Amanpour]

So you had suicidal thoughts?

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

I never used that word internally, but I just couldn't do it anymore. And Mr. Khan understood fully. He was actually very kind in that moment. And he said, I would never want you to harm yourself. And he stopped, I would say, about two or three weeks. But that was worse because prior to that, it was like being a zombie or being in a fog. But in those two or three weeks, I was really hopeful because he wasn't retaliating against me. The work was happening, and so I thought it was done. And that's all I ever wanted, for it just to be finished. And then it started again. And so the crash was even worse. The second instance, when we talk about consent, we don't need a series of incidences, and we know that. So let's take one moment. One of my experiences happened in Colombia

[Christiana Amanpour]

on a mission to Venezuela and Colombia at that time, correct?

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

And Mr. Kahn's hotel room was on the floor above mine, right at the end of a hallway.

[Sarita Ashraf (Karim Khan's Lead Counsel)]

And

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

usually we sort of cordon off or block off that section for his security and safety. My room was on the floor beneath his, and I had a staff member on either side. We had arrived, and Mr. Khan called me and said, there's a text message I need you to have a look at. And I thought this was because Mr. Khan always used the guise of work to initiate interactions. And so, very stupidly, I said, I think I'm nauseous from the altitude. You know, Bogota has above sea level. And I said, could we have a look at this over a dinner? Because we were meeting with an official delegate. And he said, it's okay. I'll come down to your hotel room. And in that split second, I thought between the two bed options, this was the better option because he likely wouldn't try anything, knowing that there were two staff members on either side of my room. And I remember distinctly that I stood very close to the door of my hotel room. He showed me the text message, and I Said, okay, well, I can't do anything with this. Like, you have to send it to me for me to log it. And he sent it. And then he asked me, oh, are you going to take a nap now? I said, yeah, maybe we can talk later. And he said, okay, I'll take a nap as well with you. And I froze. And I remember I was wearing black leggings and a black top. And I lay on the edge of the bed facing the wall, sort of in, like, a fetal position. And there is no explanation for this, but I did what sounds ridiculous, but was exactly what I did during a traumatic event when I was a child. And I pretended to be asleep. Nobody goes to sleep that quickly unless I guess you're on drugs or you've had a lot of alcohol. And I felt Mr. Khan sort of scooch over in the bed. And he started to put his hand down my leggings to grope me,

[Christiana Amanpour]

to

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

put his tongue in my ear. And I didn't move an inch. Even when I remember, I think his fingernail must have caught my skin. I didn't flinch. Nothing. I just was still. Now, if you take that one incident alone, if you believe someone to be asleep, that is not consent. You cannot consent to that.

[Christiana Amanpour]

Can I point some things out, then, in this idea of did he think it was consensual, You've explained exactly why that couldn't be possible from your point of view. Of course.

[Interviewer 1]

And afterwards, according to the report, he

[Christiana Amanpour]

would ask you whether you were comfortable or uncomfortable with anything he was doing. In other words, after you had these experiences that you allege, he would then say, of course, you. I'm paraphrasing. You tell me if you are uncomfortable. Is that correct?

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

He would sometimes mention that or ask me that question. But if you know Mr. Khan, he's not expecting a response from you. Mr. Khan does what he wants. And I again go back to that moment where I clearly told him, if this continues, I might harm myself.

[Christiana Amanpour]

Khan, according to the report, said that you demonstrated constant insistence sometimes to go on missions, which at least one staffer agreed with.

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

First of all, Mr. Khan is a boss. No staff member gets to decide if they go on mission or not. That's not up to us.

[Christiana Amanpour]

So what you're telling me is that there's a very strict and clear hierarchy. And the word insist you disagree with.

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

Absolutely.

[Christiana Amanpour]

Okay, let me ask you about this, which is a very serious allegation. One of the people who spoke to the report, as far as I've seen and said that they had asked you after you had told them about what happened in Venezuela, they directly asked you whether he had raped you. And according to the report, you didn't answer, but looked down, sighed and shrugged.

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

Throughout everything that has happened, I haven't place a label on anything. One, because I am not a lawyer in this, even though that's my profession. It's not my place to label anything. What I've tried to do is to stick to the details and, to the best of my recollection, recollect them and present it to the people who are meant to be decision makers. The second part is a little bit more personal. If I would put a label, whatever that label is, I'm not sure how I can get through the day. And I have had. To play multiple roles in this. And I'm also a mom, so I have to function, so it has been easier for me. Do not focus on that and just describe the events as they happen. And I also think that it's just more accurate.

[Christiana Amanpour]

Like to have a bit of water, Take a break. You okay?

[Narrator/Intro Voice]

Yeah.

[Christiana Amanpour]

I need to ask you another question, which is about his explanation of something. You started to explain the configuration of the rooms on this mission.

[Sarita Ashraf (Karim Khan's Lead Counsel)]

Yes.

[Interviewer 1]

Denies the allegation.

[Christiana Amanpour]

Told this is Mr. Khan, according to the report, denies the allegations. Told investigators that the presence of his security details would have made attempts to go to her hotel room, quote, virtually impossible.

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

Now, the closed protection officers, as we call them, or security detail, are there specifically to protect and keep Mr. Khan safe. They are not to restrict or limit his movements or Mr. Khan's team. And so whether we're talking about entering Mr. Khan's hotel room or Mr. Khan coming to any of our rooms, that is not for them to determine. The four individuals that I mentioned, myself included, part of his immediate team, regularly went to Mr. Khan's hotel room, whether one of us, several of us, and Mr. Khan could certainly come to any of our hotel rooms.

[Christiana Amanpour]

At what point did you. Did you tell anybody?

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

If I look back now, I think I was. Testing the waters,

[Interviewer 1]

because.

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

I guess I was flagging that things were not all well through a series of text messages to a former colleague of mine. And then there was a colleague of mine in a different team where I did not go into detail. I did not provide specifics, but I made several indications that I was not okay and that I wanted to leave the team. Now, this individual had known Mr. Khan maybe for 10, 15 years, and made very clear to me that even if I moved into another team, I would still be seen as a Threat or a loose string.

[Christiana Amanpour]

They advise you not to make waves and not to come across as a threat.

[Sarita Ashraf (Karim Khan's Lead Counsel)]

Correct.

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

And by that point, I had heard from a number of individuals to not

[Christiana Amanpour]

cross Ms. Hahn, because what do they think could happen? What do you think? I have to ask you, what do you think might have happened? Were you afraid of losing your job? Were you afraid of

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

everything? And in fact, all those things have happened. So I think my concerns were valid. I was. I am under a visa of the court. And what that means is if I lose my job, I have approximately two weeks to leave the eu, which means leaving my son and my husband.

[Christiana Amanpour]

They're Dutch nationals. You're not. You didn't take their Dutch nationality?

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

I never took their Dutch nationality. And of course I can apply for it, but there is a period of time I would have to return to Malaysia, as I understand it, apply through the embassy, and then while that's being processed, I cannot work full time. So I would also lose my salary at that period of time. My mother had stage four cancer. I'm her only child and there were a lot of. She was in and out of the ER every three, four weeks. She needed 24, seven care.

[Christiana Amanpour]

I want to get to another part of the report. One key official close to Mr. Khan and in the court spoke also to the investigators and said you had advised him that something very, very bad was up. This individual says he went to Mr. Khan, this is all in the report, and told him about it. He felt he owed him that. According to this individual, Mr. Khan's face went white and he asked whether the complainant was male or female. Upon learning that it was female on their floor, Mr. Khan asked who it was. When advised that it was you, he apparently said, I'm finished. I'll need to resign. I'm not strong enough for this. And he also added that his resignation would be seen as him, quote, running away from the Palestinian issue. We're going to talk about that in a moment. He further goes on to say, this is the person who talked to the investigators, that Mr. Khan did not ask what the allegations were. That's in the report. Let's get a little bit to the investigation. It's complicated, to say the least. There is an investigative body called the iom, the Independent Oversight Mechanism. They tried to investigate after your allegations emerged, but you refused to cooperate with them and that closed their investigation.

[Interviewer 1]

Is that the case?

[Christiana Amanpour]

Why would you refuse to cooperate?

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

I can't speak about confidential matters at the court, but what I can say is this. The ICC has Got a framework with rules and regulations, so they did not need my approval to conduct an investigation again. My intention was never to have an investigation or for this to have gone as far as it did. I just wanted it to stop.

[Sarita Ashraf (Karim Khan's Lead Counsel)]

That's it.

[Christiana Amanpour]

Khan says he told investigators, according to the report, again, that he suggested a

[Interviewer 1]

lateral move out of his office as

[Christiana Amanpour]

a good career opportunity. But you chose to stay in the office instead.

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

What I have are numerous text messages where I discuss this with fellow staff. There is also a conversation that was held with this senior staff member that spoke to me concerning this. And even he suggests and says very clearly, if you move now, it won't be good for you. Everyone agreed, without having spoken to each other, that if I accepted such a move again, Mr. Khan is the ultimate boss, eventually something would happen.

[Christiana Amanpour]

Now, despite all these allegations, very serious allegations, you did keep up a friendly correspondence with him. Even afterwards, you sent once a heart emoji to him. You once sent a birthday card. This was In March of 2024, a full year into the abuse you say you suffered. Can I read from the card?

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

Sure.

[Christiana Amanpour]

For years, I had admired you from afar as a lawyer. Today, I'm in short span of time. You've become far more to me. On this special occasion, I celebrate the entirety of the person I've gotten to know. You're kind, empathetic, funny, passionate and formidable. You've given me back so much of what had been forgotten. And for this I'm eternally grateful. What were you thinking then? About why you wrote that?

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

First of all, again, it was always better to stay on Mr. Khan's good side. It might seem counterproductive, but by this is going to sound really bad. But stroking his ego again, I was less of a threat and so I'd be able to better evade his physical advances.

[Interviewer 1]

Did you ever go to the media?

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

No.

[Christiana Amanpour]

We're sitting down together now. This is your first time talking to the media.

[Interviewer 1]

Is there any upside for you for actually coming out and reporting?

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

If there is, I'd like to know it. When I made that disclosure, I was exhausted. I was extremely emotional. I was not in a good place. And it was after the colleague I share an office with had repeatedly said, are you okay? Something's wrong, Something's up. You haven't been. You've been behaving strangely and it came up. My experience is this. For the last two years, my complaint has been conflated with other reasons. And in my line of work,

[Narrator/Intro Voice]

I

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

think it's worse to be considered a state agent than A sexual harasser.

[Interviewer 1]

Okay, so let's stop there, because this

[Christiana Amanpour]

is actually part of what has been said in public. So as you remember, because I think you were there In May of 2024, I interviewed Karim Khan at the Office of the Prosecutor. About? Well, he announced on our program that he was seeking and applying for arrest warrants against the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, his Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, and the two main top or several top Hamas officials. This took us and Israeli officials by surprise. What was your involvement in assisting with that work?

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

That's something I can't comment on.

[Christiana Amanpour]

Okay. Can I ask you how you view the validity of the ICC's investigation and application for these arrest warrants?

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

I can't speak about specific investigations, but what I can say is this. I joined the court, and I work at the court because I believe in what the court does, and I fully and entirely support the court's investigations, which is also the reason why I didn't come forward for so long, because I was so scared and so worried that. That doing so would affect the court's work. And we talk about the icc, but it's also staff members. So if I came forward, my complaint could have an effect on my colleagues who are working 24 7, who are giving everything that they can.

[Interviewer 1]

Let me ask you, very soon after

[Christiana Amanpour]

your allegations started to come out, when

[Interviewer 1]

the press started to hear that there

[Christiana Amanpour]

were allegations against Karim Khan, that was later in 2024, rumors started to swirl that you might be a Mossad agent. According to this report, even some inside the ICC found the timing of the allegations suspicious. You know, what's your response to that? Well, first of all, are you a Mossad agent?

[Sarita Ashraf (Karim Khan's Lead Counsel)]

No.

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

And if I would be one, I would say I was terrible at it. But no. To work at the court, you have to undergo multiple security clearances. And because of where I worked in the immediate office, both under Fatou, former prosecutor Fatou BenSouda, and under Mr. Khan, I had to undergo the highest level of security clearance. Second of all, if ever there was even a hint of suspicion that I was a state agent of any kind, I would have been dismissed. Why did my allegations become known to Mr. Khan? And I was able to continue in my role and job, and I continue to be a staff member of the court. That's a huge security risk, if true.

[Interviewer 1]

Indeed.

[Christiana Amanpour]

To the report, one of the other members of the ICC who was asked about this and your other allegations stated that the idea that you were a Mossad agent was, quote, a load of bull two Things are true or can be true that you have allegations which you've made internally to them, and that Israel and its supporters have also tried to weaponize this, your allegations because of this indictment. Application for arrest warrants.

[Interviewer 1]

Why do you think they're being conflated?

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

Well, first of all, I can't speak to any specific state or individual, but I think many parties have, for their own agenda, conflated the two things. There can be many reasons for it because it serves certain interests. What I do know is that my complaint was because of what happened to me, not for any other reason. And second, that conflation has only helped to distract and deflect from the validity of that complaint. The two things need to be separated.

[Christiana Amanpour]

Again, I want to just recap and read from this leaked report that I received, which is the report. You know, they talk about their overview. They found evidence showing a factual basis to your claim, saying the evidence indicated that his behavior escalated over time, resulting in him engaging in non consensual sexual contact with her in his office, at his private residence and whilst on mission. Also noted witness accounts, contemporaneous conversations

[Interviewer 1]

with

[Christiana Amanpour]

you lend support to the claims. That's the UN's investigative report. But there's another report, there's another group called essentially the Panel of Judges. They've come to a slightly different conclusion. They decided that these could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt, that these allegations were not proven to that threshold. Quote, the panel is unanimously of the opinion that the factual findings by OIOS do not establish misconduct or breach of duty under the relevant legal framework. And Karim Khan says to them that this process has exonerated him. What is the conflict between these two reports?

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

I'm under confidentiality obligations, unfortunately. I just. I can't comment on it. I can only speak to my own experience.

[Christiana Amanpour]

Okay. In public. Mr. Khan has said to Mehdi Hassan again on Zitteo, it's the opposite of due process. His lawyers have criticized the whole investigative process as ad hoc, unfair to him, with new bodies and rules created. You can't comment?

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

I would rather not.

[Christiana Amanpour]

Despite that, there was a final vote in which the New York Times reports that the three. Despite what the three judges found. The New York Times reports that the executive body of the Bureau of the

[Interviewer 1]

assembly of State Parties.

[Christiana Amanpour]

I know this is complex and dense, but it's all the bureaucratic procedure around this investigation. Investigation has found that Mr. Khan committed sexual harassment when engaged in sexual activity with a junior staff member. He later sought to dissuade his accuser Yoo from pursuing the allegations of misconduct. He never clearly denied a sexual relationship with his subordinate. His later denials were devoid of credibility. He has been suspended from his role as chief prosecutor, as you know. Again, his lawyer tells the New York Times that the conclusions were unlawful, procedurally unfair, unsupported by evidence, and that Kahn denied, quote, every specific allegation of sexual interaction of any kind. His lawyer said that it was unfair that the Bureau rested its conclusions on a finding of a consensual sexual relationship rendered inappropriate by a power imbalance. Because you never made that allegation. What do you think the outcome of their final decision on July 24th will be?

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

I don't know. And it's not up to me. These are state parties. They elected Mr. Khan, and they will make their decision as they see fit. My reason or why I decided to speak to you. Has little to do with what they decide on the 24th.

[Christiana Amanpour]

What does it have to do with what is your future at the ICC or wherever?

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

I don't know what my future is, but I know that my story does not change based on the outcome of the vote. And I thought about it long and hard, and I went back and forth for days about what the right thing is to do. And sitting here, I'm still not sure if this is the right thing to do. And even in terms of timing,

[Sarita Ashraf (Karim Khan's Lead Counsel)]

if

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

I decided to go ahead and I did it after the vote and Mr. Khan is not removed as prosecutor, people would say she's being vindictive, she's unhappy with it. So you know she's doing this. If I did it before, they would say she's trying to influence the vote. And if I didn't do it at all, I will forever be known as a possible state agent. But larger than that, I think the main factor for me is during the last few years, Mr. Khan has had a name, a reputation and a title. I have been known as V01 and anonymized. And that is meant to protect a victim who comes forward or a complainant. But that also has had the opposite effect in that it has allowed me to be. To be crafted in whatever way suits another person. And there's been this caricature drawn estate agent, a gold digger, crazy, emotional, a compulsive liar. And there are thousands of women who will never have the opportunity to sit with you. And this is not unique to my circumstances. This happens every day. And for me, what I want out of this is at the very least, for people to consider the various ways in which we deflect from Legitimate allegations. The ways in which we question the credibility of someone even when there's nothing to it. And we give it. We give it an engine to drive.

[Christiana Amanpour]

How do you feel today about all of this?

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

Incredibly nervous, humiliated. I expect a lot of backlash once this goes public. It's not an easy thing to do, but I also think it's very important.

[Christiana Amanpour]

I want to ask you about the bigger issue of the court. The investigation, obviously, is long and drawn out. It's been criticized on all sorts of grounds. Even Kenneth Roth, the former head of Human Rights Watch, has said publicly the procedure that everything has taken has been, quote, a travesty. How do you view it? How do you think it's impacted the reputation of the icc, which was designed, as you said, to bring justice to the world and hold the worst criminals accountable.

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

Long before I joined the court, There has always been pressures on the court, even during prosecutor Ben Suda's time. And there will always be criticisms. But I don't believe that the legitimacy of the court should stand on the reputation of any one man. This is not a spectacle. This is not Hollywood. At the end of the day, this is a complaint. And what the court and other institutions do with such a complaint adds to its legitimacy. It doesn't take away from it. It shows that they are willing to take possible misconduct seriously. I believe that the court will, of course, continue to face pressures going forward, but I also believe that the court will continue to function.

[Narrator/Intro Voice]

And

[Sarah (Main Accuser)]

we also have to recognize that no institution in this world is perfect. The fact that it continues to try to improve itself will only contribute to its strength going forward.

[Christiana Amanpour]

Sareh, thank you very much. When the allegations against Khan first became publicly known, a second accuser also came forward.

[Interviewer 1]

She spoke to the Guardian anonymously and and to UN investigators about unwanted sexual advances she says Khan subjected her to in 2009. We spoke to her. We agreed to not disclose her identity. And CNN cannot independently corroborate her claims.

[Narrator/Intro Voice]

The first type of behavior began when my team and I were asked to work at his house. We began working at his house,

[Christiana Amanpour]

and

[Narrator/Intro Voice]

that began a pattern of my going to his house. And every time I went to his house, I felt I needed to fortify myself, because without failing, every time I was there, it was a constant onslaught of him coming on to me, groping me, grabbing me, kissing my face, touching my hair, trying to get me to engage in intimate activity with him, which I constantly had to bat off. And I felt I had to do it in a way that didn't antagonize him too much in the office. On one occasion, I was sitting at my desk and he stood behind me, groping my breasts.

[Interviewer 1]

Can I just respond with the answers to the allegations by. By Karim Khan, his lawyers and you also spoke anonymous to the Guardian newspaper last year, detailing some of what you've just told me. They say it's wholly untrue that he's engaged in sexual misconduct of any kind. That he categorically denies having harassed or mistreated any individual, or having misused his position or authority, or engaged in any conduct that could be interpreted as coercive, exploitative or professionally inappropriate.

[Narrator/Intro Voice]

The reason I came forward after so many years is because at the time it happened to me, I felt very isolated. And as many people do under these circumstances, I felt that perhaps I was the only person who had experienced these behaviors. When after a decade, I read the Guardian article with the other allegations, my heart sank.

[Interviewer 1]

We asked Karim Khan to sit for an interview with us. His legal team said it would not be appropriate at this time, but they offered us the option of speaking to

[Christiana Amanpour]

his lead counsel, Sarita Ashraf. Here's our conversation with her.

[Interviewer 1]

Sarita Ashraf, welcome to the program. We should note that you have not seen the interviews in question, but. But that we did send you detailed lists of allegations that both women made in advance of this interview. So, firstly, Mr. Khan has given several media interviews and public appearances in recent weeks, speaking also about this subject. But when we invited him onto the program, we were told, quote, it would not be appropriate at this time. Why is he not able to join today? And you are the one joining us?

[Sarita Ashraf (Karim Khan's Lead Counsel)]

Well, thank you for having me here. When Mr. Khan spoke to the media, it was after the delivery of a report of a panel of judges, an independent panel of judges who reached a unanimous determination that the evidence did not establish misconduct or breach of duty on the part of Mr. Khan. At that point, we thought the process would move forward as it ought to have moved forward, with the Bureau accepting the recommendation of the panel of judges that it itself selected and appointed and to move to close the matter. It was at that point that Mr. Khan, who had not spoken throughout the entire process, came out expecting the matter to be moved towards closing. It has now become clear that that is not the path that this has taken. In what I would consider to be an extraordinary step, a subset of 13 states in the Bureau has refused to accept the ruling of the independent panel of judges and has reached the diametrically opposite conclusion based on the same evidence.

[Interviewer 1]

Yes, and I'm specifically going to ask you to address some of the allegations. And you have seen a long list of them, very detailed list of allegations, and we have addressed them in our interviews with the two women as well. But let me ask you this. Yes, the panel of judges said, as you said, but also the other investigative body, the oios, suggested that actually there had been misconduct. And a number of members of the states did recommend that he be suspended pending another vote, which will be on July 24th with all these member states. So let's just make that absolutely clear that he is suspended currently pending the conclusion of that vote. But victim number one, she alleges an escalating pattern of behavior, including non consensual groping and penetration, including while she pretended to be asleep. To all intents and purposes, she says she was asleep. She also that due to the power differential between her and her boss, Mr. Khan, Any sexual relationship could not have been consensual. What is your response to this?

[Sarita Ashraf (Karim Khan's Lead Counsel)]

These. First of all, we would like to say that these are serious allegations and they needed to be taken seriously, investigated seriously, and undergo a serious judicial review. And that is what has happened. The allegations that are presented in your program are not new allegations. They are allegations which form part of a much larger body of evidence. Mr. Khan has denied and continues to deny them in their entirety, any form of sexual contact, relationship, consensual or non consensual, with the complainant in this particular case. I also want to emphasize, as you said at the beginning, that the OIS report had made factual findings and this differed from the panel of judges. One thing I want to make really clear to your viewers is that the OIRS report does not have the same standing as the panel of judges. OIRs spent 13 months investigating this case. They interviewed over 30 witnesses. They collected over 5,600 pages of material, including telephone records and messages records, and from that, they produced a large number of conflicting narratives. You're looking at a very small sliver of evidence against a much larger body of evidence, all of which the judges took into account. And the judges, the ones who applied the standard of proof before reaching a finding that the evidence did not establish the findings, the facts found by OIOS did not establish misconduct or breach of duty on the part of Mr. Kahn.

[Interviewer 1]

As I said to you, and as you know, because we presented you with detailed, you know, results of our interviews, we used a lot of the evidence that you all and Mr. Khan were also delivered. So let's just be very clear about that. I would like to ask you about this in The OIS report there's testimony from a witness that she said she had thoughts of harming herself and that she had told this to Mr. Khan. What is your response to that with

[Sarita Ashraf (Karim Khan's Lead Counsel)]

regard to that allegation? No medical evidence was presented to OIOS. Mr. Khan does not recollect ever being informed of that. But certainly if there were fragilities, if there were mental health concerns or vulnerabilities of particular individuals, that may have been the case. We obviously can't speak to someone's mental health, but certainly that did not result from any conduct on the part of Mr. Khan.

[Interviewer 1]

What about the second accuser who in public has been called in another media operation, Patricia, alleging that approximately 16 years ago, when she was an intern for Mr. Khan, that he subjected her to sexual harassment. She says constantly coming onto her, trying to get her to engage in intimate activity. Also alleging that in the years between her allegations and the witness who we're talking about, the main witness, Mr. Khan, or rather the main victim, Mr. Khan, has only become more powerful and emboldened and accustomed to more and more impunity, meaning that bad behavior, unchecked, simply has gotten worse. What is your response to that?

[Sarita Ashraf (Karim Khan's Lead Counsel)]

Again, these are not new allegations. These are allegations which form part of the investigation that OIOS, Mr. Khan denies them in their entirety. In the case of this particular individual, she kept in contact with Mr. Khan for many years after she exited the world of international criminal law with a very positive relationship for a very long time. So we deny these allegations in the entirety, but they're also not new allegations. They're allegations which have formed part of the evidential record and which were seen alongside the evidence of over 30 other witnesses, as well as the evidence of Mr. Khan himself. And the evidential, complete evidential picture paints a far different picture than has been presented here today. And so we are obviously concerned at the timing of this coming out. It does create pressure. In an already an environment which has become more political than legal, the decision to come on and present one part of a very much larger overall picture risks putting a thumb on the scales of the 24 July vote. That's something that we're very concerned about. We would hope that your viewers would understand and at least recognize that there is a huge host of evidence and information that the judges had access to that we hope that the Bureau and ASP members will access that simply the wider public does not.

[Interviewer 1]

You've just talked about the process and you have complained about the process and expressed concern about it. So can I ask you then, you are in New York where this vote that is going to take place will happen on Friday, 24 July. Have you or any of Mr. Khan's team or he himself been attempting to lobby or influence member states ahead of this vote?

[Sarita Ashraf (Karim Khan's Lead Counsel)]

I am in New York. We are seeking we have invited member states who have any questions about the evidence to ask us about the evidence. So we are making ourselves available not necessarily to lobby, but to allow them to ask us questions to clarify the evidential record, because the truth is that they are having to do a tremendous amount of work in a very compressed time, and it is not clear how well they will be able to do that, given their other duties. Other duties in the month that has elapsed between the special session being called and the vote being held.

[Interviewer 1]

Sarita Ashraf, thank you for being with us.

[Sarita Ashraf (Karim Khan's Lead Counsel)]

Thank you so much.

[Interviewer 1]

And you can watch the full versions of all our interviews on the program [e-mail] if you or someone you know

[Christiana Amanpour]

has been affected by the issues we've

[Interviewer 1]

discussed discussed in this show and needs help, call the US Sexual Assault Hotline 247 at 1-800-656-4673, provided by RAINN. And internationally, a worldwide list of directories is backed by UN Women on Leela.

[Christiana Amanpour]

Help.

[Interviewer 1]

That is it for now.

[Christiana Amanpour]

Thank you for watching and goodbye from London.

[CNN Promo Voice]

Go inside. The sports moments that brought us together and made history, from the underdogs to the rivalries and the miracles. The new CNN original series, decades in Sports Watch, back to back, premieres August 2nd on CNN. And next day on the CNN app.