U.S. lifts Trump-imposed sanctions on ICC prosecutor

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Friday that the US lifted sanctions, imposed by Trump administration, on International Criminal Court prosecutor Fatou Bensouda that drew international criticism.

This move lifts the sanctions imposed on Bensouda over her investigation into whether American forces committed war crimes in Afghanistan.

Moreover, it removes Phakiso Mochochoko, head of the ICC’s Jurisdiction, Complementarity and Cooperation Division, from the Specially Designated Nationals list.

Blinken’s statement noted that the State Department also terminated a separate 2019 policy on visa restrictions on certain ICC personnel and added: “These decisions reflect our assessment that the measures adopted were inappropriate and ineffective.”

Accordingly, the International Criminal Court welcomed the United States' decision in a tweet.

[embed]https://twitter.com/IntlCrimCourt/status/1378093026149593088?s=08[/embed]

Last year, former secretary of state Mike Pompeo imposed the sanctions and refused visas for Bensouda. Nonetheless, Blinken stated that the United States continued to "disagree strongly" with the moves.

"We believe, however, that our concerns about these cases would be better addressed through engagement with all stakeholders in the ICC process rather than through the imposition of sanctions," Blinken said in a statement.

Furthermore, he affirmed that the Trump-imposed sanctions and visa bans against Bensouda and her staff were being lifted