US Judge Halts Trump’s Executive Order on the International Criminal Court

SadaNews - A federal judge halted the implementation of the executive order issued by U.S. President Donald Trump, which targets those working for the International Criminal Court, according to Reuters.

This ruling follows a lawsuit filed by two human rights defenders last April to challenge the executive order that Trump issued on February 6, which allows for broad economic sanctions and travel restrictions on those involved in the ICC's investigations related to American citizens, or U.S. allies such as Israel.

Nancy Torresen, a U.S. District Court judge, described the executive order in her ruling as an unconstitutional violation of freedom of speech.

She wrote: "It appears that the executive order restricts freedom of speech far more than is necessary to achieve this goal."

The White House and the International Criminal Court did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The executive order imposed sanctions on Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the ICC, who is British. He was also placed on the sanctions list by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.

According to the executive order, condemned by the ICC and dozens of countries, American citizens providing services to Khan or other sanctioned individuals could face civil and criminal penalties.