ICC prosecutor defends dropping US from Afghan war crime probe

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The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) prosecutor has defended forgetting the United States from an disquisition in Afghanistan, saying the “ worst crimes” were committed by the Taliban and the ISIL (ISIS).

Rights groups criticised Karim Khan’s decision in September to “ deprioritise” the disquisition into American forces, and concentrate rather on Afghanistan’s new autocrats and the rival Islamic State in Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K), an ISIL chapter.

I made a decision, grounded upon the substantiation, that the worst crimes in terms of graveness and scale and extent feel to be committed by the so- called Islamic State ( by) Khorasan and also the Taliban,” Khan told a meeting of ICC countries in The Hague on Monday.

And I said I would prioritise these and I’ve asked the judges for authorisation to carry out those examinations,” added the British prosecutor.

The ICC’s Afghan disquisition into US crimes had long enraged Washington, and urged the administration of also-President Donald Trump to put warrants on Khan’s precursor Fatou Bensouda.

The world’s only endless war crimes court launched a primary disquisition in Afghanistan in 2006, and Bensouda asked judges to authorise a full disquisition in 2017.

Bensouda said there was “ reasonable” dubitation of war crimes by the Taliban and US forces in Afghanistan and the CIA in secret detention centres abroad.

The now- deposed government in Kabul also asked the court in early 2020 to break its inquiry while it delved war crimes domestically.

Still, Khan in September asked judges to relaunch the process, saying the Taliban’s preemption in August meant war crimes would no longer be delved duly.

Judges have asked for further clarity over who’s officially in charge in Afghanistan before deciding.

The British prosecutor, meanwhile, said while the recent achievement in Sudan had “ caused a bit of a hiatus”, he anticipated his platoon to be suitable to return soon to continue its war crimes disquisition there.

Khan visited Khartoum in August to subscribe a cooperation deal to push through a “ genocide” trial forex-leader Omar al-Bashir over the Darfur conflict.

He added that the “ time for change is ripe” at the ICC in general, reiterating earlier pledges to concentrate on cases with a likely chance of conviction and drop those where successful execution is doubtful.