ICC president vows to resist US and Russian pressure despite sanctions and threats

THE HAGUE, Dec 1: The president of the International Criminal Court said during the institution’s annual meeting Monday that it will not bow to pressure from the United States and Russia. Nine staff members, including six judges and the court’s chief prosecutor, have been sanctioned by US President Donald Trump for pursuing investigations into US and Israeli officials, while Moscow has issued warrants for staff in response to an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine. “We never accept any kind of pressure,” Judge Tomoko Akane told delegations from the court’s 125 member states. The sanctions…