ICC judges sue Trump admin over sanctions

Lawsuit argues sanctions were unlawful

WASHINGTON:

Three International Criminal Court judges on Wednesday sued US President Donald Trump and his administration over sanctions imposed on them last year, arguing the measures were unlawful.

In the lawsuit filed in the federal court in Manhattan, judges Kimberly Prost of Canada, Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda and Reine Adelaide Sophie Alapini-Gansou of Benin said the sanctions were designed to exert extrajudicial pressure with the objective of punishing and coercing the judges.

A White House official said Trump lawfully exercised his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) in imposing the sanctions, which the official said dealt with "an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States involving the International Criminal Court, including the ICC's illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel."

"The Administration will continue to vigorously defend the President's

actions—protecting

the national security and foreign policy of our country first and foremost," the official said.

The State and Treasury departments did not respond to requests for comment.

The Trump administration imposed sanctions on several judges at the International Criminal Court last year in an unprecedented retaliation over the war tribunal's issuance of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a past decision to open a

case into alleged war

crimes by US troops in Afghanistan.