Canadian judge decries U.S. sanctions of International Criminal Court as 'attack in favour of impunity'

Resumen detallado

Kimberly Prost, a Canadian judge at the International Criminal Court, was sanctioned by the Trump administration last August. Despite impacts including cancelled credit cards and frozen bank accounts, she says attempts to intimidate her and other court officials are 'futile.'

Kimberly Prost began to feel the effects of the U.S. sanctions immediately.

"These economic sanctions are not symbolic in any way," said Prost, a Canadian judge at the International Criminal Court (ICC), who was sanctioned by the Trump administration last year.

Prost's credit cards were cancelled and her access to banking services hindered, she said, because of the U.S.'s wide-reaching impact on the global banking system.

"Every time literally I go to make a bank transfer, I hold my breath because I don't know if it's going to work," Prost said in an interview with CBC News.

"To order an Uber, book a hotel, buy a theatre ticket — everything requires some form of credit card, and so you're sort of struggling to adjust."

Google, iCloud, Amazon accounts cut off for ICC judges amid U.S. sanctions

Based in The Hague, Netherlands, the ICC investigates and tries individuals charged with genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity when courts in its 125 member states, including Canada, are unwilling or unable to do so.

The sanctions on Prost are part of a larger U.S. campaign to discredit and dismantle the ICC, which began in earnest after a February 2025 executive order imposed sanctions for investigating American personnel and issuing arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant.

U.S. President Donald Trump has since sustained his attack on the international court, calling on member states to immediately "resign from this rogue institution" in a September UN General Assembly speech. Just last month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio threatened to dismantle the ICC "brick by brick" if allies do not "rein in" the court.

Inicio del artículo, extracto de CBC News. Para leer el resto, abra el artículo en el sitio del medio.