Trump ICC sanctions face rights groups' lawsuit

Four rights groups including Human Rights Watch sued US President Donald Trump in a New York court on Tuesday over sanctions targeting the International Criminal Court, saying the measures block victims of war crimes from seeking justice.

The complaint was filed by Human Rights Watch, American Friends Service Committee, Center for Constitutional Rights and Open Society Institute. It says the sanctions should be struck down because they violate laws including First Amendment free speech protections.

The lawsuit calls the measures an unlawful abuse of power and says they damage efforts to bring perpetrators of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity to justice. The groups say they have been forced to stop fully engaging with the ICC because they fear civil or criminal penalties or being designated for sanctions themselves.

Alongside Trump, the lawsuit names Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Attorney General Todd Blanche and Bradley Smith, director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

The Trump administration rejects the ICC's authority and has imposed travel bans and asset freezes on several judges and prosecutors, mainly over investigations into Israel, a key US ally. The sanctions were issued under an executive order Trump signed in February 2025 and have targeted eight judges, three prosecutors, a UN expert and three human rights organizations.

Many of the measures were directly linked to an arrest warrant that the Hague-based court issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the war in Gaza. Washington has also criticized ICC probes into alleged abuses during the US-led war in Afghanistan.

The United Nations and the European Union previously urged Trump to reverse penalties against ICC officials. A State Department official told AFP last month that Washington would seek to pressure other nations to withdraw from the court and cut off financial support.

The ICC, established in 2002, prosecutes individuals accused of the gravest atrocities and acts as a last resort when countries do not have adequate legal systems to ensure accountability. The United States, like Israel, has not ratified the treaty that established the court.

In June, three ICC judges sanctioned by the Trump administration filed a separate lawsuit against the president and other senior US officials, arguing that the measures imposed on them were unlawful.