US sanctions on the President of the International Criminal Court

Tokyo (Agencies): Japan yesterday described as “very regrettable” the sanctions imposed by the United States on International Criminal Court (ICC) President Tomoko Akane. The United States announced sanctions against Akane and the ICC’s current Deputy Prosecutor, Senegalese national Abdoulaye Seye, as part of its campaign against the body, which it accuses of being “politicized.” In a statement, Japan’s Foreign Ministry said Tokyo “has consistently supported the International Criminal Court in its efforts to prosecute and punish those responsible for the most serious crimes of concern to the international community and to support the rule of law. From this standpoint, the announced measures are very regrettable.” The Court, in a separate statement, said that the sanctions against its officials “undermine the rule of law.” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that Akane and Seye “have been directly involved in the ICC’s efforts to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute officials whose governments do not accept the Court’s jurisdiction.”