World

Human rights lawyers launched a legal challenge on October 1 to U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order imposing economic sanctions on employees of the world's permanent war crimes tribunal, arguing it breaches the U.S. constitution.

A filing lodged at a district court in New York by the Open Society Justice Initiative, a public interest law center that specializes in war crimes cases, names Trump, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and seven other members of his administration.

It argues that the executive order violates constitutional rights, including freedom of speech, and prevents the plaintiffs from carrying out work in support of international justice.

"By issuing this outrageous order, the Trump administration has betrayed Washington's long-standing support for international justice, snubbed its allies, and violated the U.S. constitution," Open Society Justice Initiative Executive Director James Goldston said in a statement. "We are going to court to end this reckless assault on a judicial institution and the victims it serves."

Trump authorized U.S. economic and travel sanctions against employees of the Hague-based International Criminal Court and anyone supporting its work on June 12, citing their involvement in an investigation into whether American forces committed war crimes in Afghanistan.

On September 2, Pompeo said ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda had been blacklisted.

The ICC has said the measures are an attack on the court, the system of international criminal justice, and the rule of law more generally.

European Union countries and rights groups have rejected the U.S. sanctions as detrimental to efforts to secure international justice for war crimes.

Measures include freezing the U.S. assets of those who help the ICC investigate or prosecute American citizens without U.S. consent, and barring them and their families from the United States.

The main target of the move is Bensouda, who was granted approval in March to investigate possible crimes committed in Afghanistan between 2003 and 2014.

These include alleged mass killings of civilians by the Taliban as well as the alleged torture of prisoners by Afghan authorities and, to a lesser extent, by U.S. forces and the CIA.

Announcing the executive order in June, Pompeo described the ICC, established in 2002 by the international community to prosecute war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity, as a "kangaroo court."

Trump administration officials also said it threatened to infringe on U.S. national sovereignty and accused Russia of manipulating it to serve Moscow's ends.

Pakistan’s ailing former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on October 1 accused the country's powerful military of political interference, saying in a televised speech from exile in London that the military had rigged the 2018 vote that brought the country's current prime minister to power.

The 70-year-old Sharif has had a long uneasy relationship with the military, with Thursday’s tirade the latest confrontation.

“I will never reconcile with those who violate the constitution by indulging in politics,” Sharif said, listing off ways he said the 2018 was rigged to bring Prime Minister Imran Khan to power. He said interfering in politics in uniform amounts to treason under the country’s constitution.

His allegations sparked an angry response from Khan, who in his own televised remarks on October 1 said Sharif was “playing a very dangerous game” by humiliating the military and intelligence services. He dismissed the allegations of rigged elections as baseless.

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Sharif served as Pakistan’s prime minister three times, first removed by a president in 1993, then by military ruler Pervez Musharraf in 1999. A court in 2017 ousted him from power over corruption allegations. Khan, a former cricketer, came to power in 2018.

Sharif spoke from London, where he has been since last November when he was released on bail to seek medical treatment abroad. At the time, a court permitted Sharif to leave the country for four weeks, but he did not return. A court last month issued arrest warrants for Sharif, previously sentenced to seven years in prison on corruption and money laundering charges stemming from disclosures in the Panama Papers.

Sharif's remarks came days after Pakistan's opposition vowed to hold rallies in October to pressure Khan to resign.

Sharif was targeted by similar mass protests during his rule by Khan, who Thursday night refused to resign. Khan said he will not withdraw the corruption cases against Sharif.

Khan said his government will bring Sharif back from London through a court order.