New York, Nov. 2 (Jiji Press)--International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane on Monday strongly criticized U.S. sanctions imposed on The Hague, the Netherlands-based organization and its judges including herself.
The sanctions are "an attempt to obstruct the course of justice and to prevent the court from doing what it was created to do," she said in the ICC's annual report to the United Nations.
Akane presented the report in a prerecorded video as she has been unable to visit the U.N. headquarters in New York due to the U.S. sanctions. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump added Akane, a Japanese national, to its sanctions list in August and the ICC as an institution in October.
"When judges are punished for their decisions, whether through sanctions or through criminal convictions, it is not only those judges who are targeted, but judicial independence itself," Akane said, asking international society for action to defend the ICC.
While noting that the ICC has taken extensive steps to protect its operations, personnel and systems, Akane said that resilience cannot be built by the court alone.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
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