Double Down News just posted a 20 minute interview with Francesca Albanese on YouTube.
Watch it here.
Last week, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, was removed over sexual misconduct allegations. An official investigation failed to establish these allegations as fact.
Khan, with the backing of the ICC, issued an arrest warrant against Israel’s prime minister Netanyahu and defence minister Gallant (as well as key Hamas figures). Now it appears Israel played a key role in getting Khan removed.
Of course, the US also sanctioned Khan and many others within the ICC and is now actively seeking to dismantle the court.
Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories and herself sanctioned by the US for her work, frames Khan’s dismissal in a new light.
She does not excuse the alleged misconduct (neither do I, to be clear) but points to the entire process and what has happened behind the scenes. Something’s not right here.
While the ICC is not a European or EU court, to me the silence of European and EU leaders is unforgivable. There’s has been virtually no response to any of the sanctions nor to the back door actions of hostile parties such as Israel and the US. There’s been no statements in defence of the ICC after the US public statements seeking to dismantle the court.
In the meantime, the breakdown of international law and institutions (while imperfect) will bring harm to us all.
While the ICC is not a European or EU court, to me the silence of European and EU leaders is unforgivable.
Absolutely 100 fucking percent!
I’m ashamed my own government supported firing him. 😡I missed that news: official UN news and also the Guardian.
The decision was a “closed-door vote among the 125-member Assembly of States Parties”. So we don’t know how EU members voted there.
True, but with 82 out of 125 voting for his removal it feels fair to say that at least some European countries voted in favour. This being closed-door is problematic in its own right but that’s another story.
My more general point is the utter failure of our leaders to defend the ICC as an institution and stand up for its people (even those without misconduct allegations). Let alone they won’t insist proper procedure is followed. On paper that may have been the case but in reality it appears to have been quite something else.
The ICC came out of the treaty of Rome, it has 125 countries as members. Most of those countries will be mostly embarrassed by Kahn’s behaviors, will be glad it is over, and will want to move on. My source at the ICC says all her colleagues are happy he is gone. https://www.theguardian.com/law/2026/jul/16/icc-staffer-talks-publicly-about-alleged-sexual-abuse-by-chief-prosecutor-karim-khan
I have a colleague who works at the court in The Hague. Next to that, I have read the reporting about Kahn and the victim https://www.theguardian.com/law/2026/jul/16/icc-staffer-talks-publicly-about-alleged-sexual-abuse-by-chief-prosecutor-karim-khan. The evidence against Kahn is simply too strong, and he simply could not be maintained in this job. Apparently the majority of people at the court are happy he is gone.
Everything else is just context.
I’m not claiming it didn’t happen but an investigation was not conclusive enough to establish this beyond any reasonable doubt. Not quite that overwhelming.
What does seem clear, however, is that these allegations regardless of their veracity seem to have been (ab)used by Israel and the US to get rid of the one person trying to hold Israel accountable for its actions.
What is certainly clear is that no European or EU leader could be bothered to stand up for the ICC and demand indisputable clarity of Khan’s conduct.
The whole thing is muddy and disturbing. I am not saying Khan’s removal wasn’t the right decision, but the way that decision was ultimately made is incredibly problematic and likely will have wider consequences.
From how these cases evolve, most likely at some time point there will be a court case; we have seen that happening (Epstein, Weinstein… there is always a bit of delay). In the meantime, the ICC’s new prosecutor will settle into the job and prosecute people. And yes, Trumpee will try to destroy the ICC, but he is trying to destroy so many things I’ve lost count. The ICC has full support of 125 countries (who are, understandably, keeping quiet, Kahn has become a liability), the USA and Israel never were among them.
It’s kinda convenient that these things can happen behind closed doors without the allegations even being established as fact. All it takes is the allegation.
Yeah the guy was platnered.
Let’s not pull Platner into this. Quite a different situation.
How so? Wasn’t he accused of maltreating women (strangers and partners) and had to drop out without any court case i.e due to allegations?
First of all, there were multiple issues with Platner beyond the allegations. He also kept changing his story which made him unreliable.
He also was not removed, people called on him to step down but he made the call. He could have refused - it would not have made him friends but it was within his right to remain the candidate.
More importantly, he did not have arrest warrants out for some of the worst people in global politics that are somehow revered by much of the rest of the world. He also did not work for an institution grounded in international law others are seeking to dismantle.
Not quite at the same scale as someone running for US senate, let alone the numbers of the people of Maine vs the people of 125 independent countries.He also was not removed, people called on him to step down but he made the call. He could have refused - it would not have made him friends but it was within his right to remain the candidate.
There was no need for him to stay, the kangaroo court had already decided. If the allegations are false, it could be seen as a removal from the race.
As for arrest warrants and so on, Platner’s goals were directly opposed to the Epstein class. Taxing the uber-rich for one, pisses that class off quite a bit as they suddenly have to contribute to the society they are stealing from. Accountability is toxic to them, so he was shaping up to be a thorn in their side.
So yes, while they are different people at different levels, the parallels are:
- getting dangerous for the upper class
- allegedly hurt women
- removed or forced to vacate an existing or future position of power
Any connection is tangential at best and the forces against either are wholly different, and so is the nature of the allegations and everything else that surrounds them.
Either way this is not a thread about Platner, I won’t entertain this further.
Any connection is tangential at best and the forces against either are wholly different, and so is the nature of the allegations and everything else that surrounds them.
🤷 I can’t blame you for wanting to be blissfully ignorant. It does help.
