Human Rights Advocates Sue Trump Administration Over Sanctions Targeting ICC
WASHINGTON ā Two U.S. human rights advocates are challenging the Trump administrationās executive order imposing sanctions on the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC). As the lawsuit explains, these sanctions violate the First Amendment by prohibiting the advocates, and other Americans like them, from speaking with the ICCās Office of the Prosecutor, including by providing legal advice, expert analysis, and evidence.
āThe International Criminal Court is where victims of grave human rights violations turn when national legal systems fail to provide justice,ā said Charlie Hogle, staff attorney with ³Ō¹ĻÖ±²„ās National Security Project. āBlocking our clients and others like them from doing their human rights work is unconstitutional.ā
Under the executive order, people in the U.S. whoāve devoted their lives to seeking justice for the victims of atrocitiesālike the genocide of Myanmarās Rohingya people, or gender-based violence committed against Afghan women under the Talibanācould face stiff penalties simply for exercising their constitutional right to engage and advocate with ICC investigators and prosecutors.
āBecause of this order, Iāve been forced to stop helping the ICC investigate horrific crimes committed against the people of Myanmar, including mass murder, torture, and human trafficking,ā said Matthew Smith, co-founder and CEO of Fortify Rights. āThis Executive Order doesnāt just disrupt our workāit actively undermines international justice efforts and obstructs the path to accountability for communities facing unthinkable horrors.ā
Matthew Smith and Akila Radhakrishnan are suing because the executive order forced them to stop working with the ICCās Office of the Prosecutor and indefinitely paused their efforts to hold leading rights violators accountable for horrific crimes. As the lawsuit explains, the First Amendment does not allow the government to impose such sweeping limits on what Americans can say, and to whom they can say it.
āVictims of the Talibanās oppression canāt rely on their own courts for justice. Thatās why they turn to the ICC, and why it's so important for me to be able to partner with them in their fight for justice and accountability,ā said Akila Radhakrishnan, an international human rights lawyer. āIām bringing this suit to prevent my own government from punishing me for trying to hold the Taliban accountable for its systematic violence against women and girls from Afghanistan.ā
The international community, including the United States, established the ICC in 1998 to help maintain international peace and security. The ICC investigates and prosecutes crimes of the severest magnitudeāincluding genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimesāwhen domestic courts are unwilling or unable to do so. Today, 125 countries have joined the ICCās founding treaty, known as the āRome Statute.ā As the lawsuit explains, although the United States has not ratified the Rome Statute, it has supported the ICCās critical work on a wide range of matters.
This lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Maine by the ³Ō¹ĻÖ±²„ and ³Ō¹ĻÖ±²„ of Maine on behalf of Matthew Smith and Akila Radhakrishnan. In 2020, when President Trump imposed similar sanctions, the ³Ō¹ĻÖ±²„ sued on behalf of human rights experts who were forced to stop working with the ICC. Our clients withdrew their lawsuit when President Joe Biden rescinded the sanctions, but a federal court in a separate suit agreed the sanctions likely violated the First Amendment.