The United States has imposed sanctions on International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane and prosecutor Abdoulaye Seye, escalating Washington's campaign against the tribunal. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the measures on Tuesday, calling the ICC a "corrupt and fatally politicized supranational court."
Rubio said the targeted individuals had directly engaged in investigating or prosecuting public figures whose governments have not consented to the court's jurisdiction. The sanctions target Akane, a Japanese judge, and Seye, a Senegalese jurist, and build on earlier measures against ICC prosecutor Karim Khan.
The actions are grounded in a 2025 executive order issued by President Donald Trump. Seye is reportedly overseeing an investigation into Israeli funding for illegal settlements and weapons distribution to settlers in the West Bank. Republican senators had previously demanded sanctions following the ICC's arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.