Netizens have condemned US sanctions against senior International Criminal Court (ICC) officials, warning that Washington is seeking to intimidate the court and prevent it from pursuing cases against the US, and its allies.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Tuesday that Washington had sanctioned ICC President Tomoko Akane and Senior Trial Lawyer Abdoulaye Seye over their work at the court.
“Last month, I launched a diplomatic campaign to dismantle the ICC’s threat to our national sovereignty,” Rubio wrote on X.
Human rights lawyer Craig Mokhiber described the move as another “mad pronouncement from a ruthless and tyrannical empire,” calling for international action against Washington’s sanctions.
“Marco Rubio’s mafia-like threats and abuses of power must be confronted with international solidarity,” Mokhiber wrote, urging ICC member states and other countries to block the effects of the sanctions and work to hold those responsible accountable.
Another mad pronouncement from a ruthless and tyrannical empire. The world must confront the reality that the people at the helm of the US government, like their partners in the Israeli regime, are sociopaths on a global crime spree. Marco Rubio’s mafia-like threats and abuses… pic.twitter.com/hPGHK4ZEj0
— Craig Mokhiber (@CraigMokhiber) August 18, 2026
UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers Margaret Satterthwaite expressed alarm over the measures, stressing that the officials had been targeted because of their professional work.
“Sanctioning independent judges and lawyers for their work to end impunity and ensure justice for the most grave crimes is a shocking betrayal of the Nuremberg promise,” she wrote, describing the sanctions as a violation of fair-trial and access-to-justice guarantees.
USA: Alarmed at new sanctions announced today against the President of the ICC, Hon. Tomoko Akane of Japan, and @CourPenaleInt Senior Trial Lawyer, Abdoulaye Seye of Senegal. The US Government makes clear that the sanctions are being imposed solely in response to the professional…
— Margaret Satterthwaite (@SRjudgeslawyers) August 18, 2026
Human rights lawyer Erika Guevara Rosas also denounced the move as an “assault on the international justice system,” saying the sanctions were part of an escalating effort to intimidate the ICC and obstruct accountability.
“These sanctions are not about sovereignty. They are about shielding powerful actors from accountability and punishing those tasked with investigating and prosecuting the gravest crimes under international law,” Guevara Rosas wrote.
Sanctioning judges and prosecutors for carrying out their judicial duties is a reprehensible assault on the international justice system. The latest US sanctions against @IntlCrimCourt President Tomoko Akane and Senior Trial Lawyer Abdoulaye Seye are part of an escalating… pic.twitter.com/Oage0sZq3v
— Erika Guevara Rosas (@ErikaGuevaraR) August 18, 2026
Journalist Glenn Greenwald highlighted Washington’s double standard toward the ICC, noting that the US supports the court when its actions serve American foreign-policy interests but seeks to destroy it when its investigations target US allies.
When the ICC issued arrest warrants for Putin and other Russian leaders due to the invasion of Ukraine, the US Government celebrated it and demanded they be enforced.
When the ICC did the same to Netanyhau and Israel, the US Govt destroyed the ICC and sanctioned its judges. https://t.co/gvBuY3o8LH
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) August 18, 2026
“Genocide Archive” wrote that Washington’s campaign against the ICC was intended to preserve the impunity of the US and its allies, especially the Israeli regime.
This is true. But in his 1st term, Trump also sanctioned the ICC for opening an investigation into crimes in Afghanistan. The US wants to protect its impunity and that of its allies. The idea that the US is sacrificing itself to protect Israel is just whitewashing of imperialism https://t.co/k5f9uHo8xG
— Genocide Archive (@Archivepaletc) August 18, 2026
Professor of international law Sergey Vasiliev criticized the Netherlands, the ICC’s host country, for stopping short of condemning the sanctions, saying it should take stronger diplomatic and political action to defend the court’s independence.
The Netherlands disapproves of—but does not quite condemn—the US latest sanctions against the ICC. As the host state it must be able to unequivocally condemn coercive measures undermining the Court’s independence. Meaningful diplomatic and political action is even more important. https://t.co/OS9q3F14BU
— Sergey Vasiliev (@sevslv) August 18, 2026
ITU Accountability, an advocacy group focused on transparency at the International Telecommunication Union, warned that Washington’s pressure on international institutions could extend beyond the ICC and urged the US to respect international law and multilateralism.
Withdraw your nominee Ms. Doreen Bogdan from ITU, if you can’t respect international law and order and if you don’t believe in international institutions like UN and multilateralism. You want to dismantle ICC now and next you want to dismantle ITU 🤔when it becomes hindrance and… https://t.co/PWxodYGphL
— ITU Accountability (@ITUAccountable) August 19, 2026
In February 2025, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order authorizing sanctions against ICC officials involved in investigations or prosecutions targeting US citizens or allies, including Israeli officials.
The order authorized asset freezes and entry restrictions against targeted officials, while the administration has since expanded its pressure on the court over its investigations into international crimes linked to Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
On November 21, 2024, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Military Affairs Yoav Gallant over war crimes and crimes against humanity during Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza
