Rody allies welcome U.S. sanctions vs ICC officials

Cagayan de Oro City — A movement advocating for the return of former President Rodrigo Duterte from the International Criminal Court (ICC) praised new United States sanctions against four ICC officials, according to the group’s convenor, Benito Ranque.

The US State Department announced the sanctions, which are levied under Executive Order 14203. The order targets foreign individuals engaged in “malign efforts” by the ICC and is intended to impose consequences on those directly involved in the court’s “transgressions” against the US, Israel and their allies.

“The latest sanction against the ICC is a welcome development for US allies, including Tatay Digong, who is now detained in the ICC in The Hague, the Netherlands, to face trial for alleged crimes against humanity,” Ranque told DAILY TRIBUNE.

Ranque previously said that Executive Order 14203 covers Duterte as a protected person.

The State Department named two judges and two prosecutors in the sanctions — Kimberly Prost and Nicolas Yann Guillou of the Trial Division, and Deputy Prosecutors Nazhat Shameem Khan and Mame Mandiaye Niang.

Prost was sanctioned for a ruling that authorized the ICC’s investigation into US personnel in Afghanistan. Guillou was sanctioned for his ruling to authorize the issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

The deputy prosecutors were sanctioned for their continued support of actions against Israel, including upholding the arrest warrants.

As a result of the sanctions, any property and interests in property of the sanctioned individuals in the US or in the possession of US persons are blocked and must be reported to the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.