Two women accusing International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor Karim Khan of sexual abuse spoke publicly on Thursday, as reported by The Guardian.
The allegations have triggered an unprecedented governance crisis for the prominent British lawyer.
An ICC lawyer named Sarah, who worked directly for Khan, and a second woman using the pseudonym Patricia recounted their experiences during interviews with CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour.
Sarah, who served as Khan's direct special assistant between 2023 and 2024, described her experience as an escalating boundary violation that culminated in physical contact.
"It was kind of like encroachments on the boundaries slowly – not just physically, but emotionally as well," said Sarah.
She further alleged that Khan entered her hotel room during an official visit to Colombia and touched her without consent while she pretended to be asleep.
"Started to put his hand down my leggings, to grope me, to put his tongue in my ear," said Sarah.
The 39-year-old Malaysian lawyer, who remains an ICC employee, rejected claims that her allegations were part of a geopolitical plot to undermine Khan following his pursuit of arrest warrants for Israeli leaders.
"If ever there was even a hint of suspicion that I was a state agent of any kind, I would have been dismissed," said Sarah.
A disciplinary investigation found no evidence indicating she was being utilized by third parties or intelligence agencies.
"My complaint was because of what happened to me, not for any other reason," said Sarah.
Patricia, who worked for Khan as an intern in 2009, alleged she experienced a relentless pattern of unwanted advances while working at his private residence.
"Without fail every time I was there it was a constant onslaught of him coming on to me, groping me, grabbing me, kissing my face, touching my hair, trying to get me to engage in intimate activity with him," said Patricia.
One of Khan's defense attorneys, Sareta Ashraph, pushed back against the broadcasted testimonies and reiterated that her client denies all accusations.
"The complete evidential picture paints a far different picture than there's been presented here today," said Ashraph.
Ashraph suggested the timing of the broadcast was calculated to influence the member states ahead of an upcoming vote regarding Khan's position.
"This foray into the media comes a week before the vote on 24 July.
The evidence that has been presented, the testimony presented is already before the states along with a huge amount of other relevant information that has not been presented on this programme [CNN]," said Ashraph.
The ICC executive committee suspended Khan last month, referring his future to the court's 125 member states who are scheduled to vote on his removal next week in New York.
