US President Donald Trump has authorized economic sanctions against any International Criminal Court official investigating or charging US military personnel "without US approval," the White House announced Thursday.
"Despite repeated calls from the United States and our allies for reform, the International Criminal Court has done nothing to reform itself and continues to carry out politically motivated investigations against us or against our allies, including Israel," she said in a statement.
The announcement comes in response to an appeal by the criminal court in March to allow the opening of an investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Afghanistan despite opposition from the Trump administration.
The investigation, sought by Prosecutor of the Court, Fatou Bensouda, deals with abuses committed by American soldiers in Afghanistan, where the United States has led since 2001 the longest war in its history. Allegations of torture were made targeting the CIA.
Criminal court judges initially refused to allow the investigation after Washington threatened to impose sanctions, and she is not a member of the court.
According to the spokesperson, President Trump, who has been engaged in an unprecedented escalation in the face of the criminal court accusing him of infringing national sovereignty, "has also allowed the expansion of visa restrictions" for those officials and members of their families.
Last year, a visa to enter the United States for Bensoda was canceled.
