Female judges at the International Criminal Court pursue legal action against the Trump administration in New York

SadaNews - Three judges from the International Criminal Court, who were previously sanctioned by the Trump administration, have filed a complaint against the US president and other American officials, arguing that the actions taken against them are illegal.

In a complaint submitted in New York on Wednesday, the judges—Canadian Kimberly Prost, Ugandan Solome Balungi Bossa, and Benin's Ren Adelaide Sophie Alapini-Gansu—stated that these sanctions aimed to "exercise pressure outside the law".

The Trump administration imposed sanctions on several judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC), including the chief prosecutor. The sanctions prohibit the judges from entering the United States and freeze any real estate or financial transactions involving them within the world's largest economy.

These sanctions are largely viewed as a response to investigations conducted by the ICC, based in The Hague, regarding Israel, a US ally, and on the arrest warrant issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2024.

The complaint presented on Wednesday alleges that the sanctions aim to "punish them" and constitute a form of "financial death sentence". It adds that "imposing such extremely harsh sanctions on international judges is unprecedented" and calls for them to be lifted.

In addition to President Trump, the complaint also targets Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of the Treasury Scott Pientka.

In July of last year, a federal judge in the United States issued a ruling to halt the enforcement of an executive order issued by Trump that imposed sanctions on ICC staff, deeming it an unconstitutional violation of freedom of expression.

The judicial decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by two human rights defenders challenging Trump's executive order, which permits economic sanctions and travel restrictions on individuals participating in the ICC's investigations, particularly those involving American citizens or Washington's allies such as Israel.