The United States imposed sanctions on International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye on August 18, 2026, under an executive order signed by former President Donald Trump in February 2025 [1, 2, 3, 4]. The sanctions bar both Akane and Seye from entering the US and prohibit transactions with US persons and entities, including freezing any US assets they hold [5, 3, 4].
US Senator Marco Rubio said the individuals "have directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute officials whose government has not consented to ICC jurisdiction," reflecting US opposition to ICC jurisdiction over non-member states such as the US and Israel [2, 5, 6, 3, 4].
Abdoulaye Seye, a Senegalese senior trial lawyer, is part of the ICC prosecution team that sought an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and is involved in investigations related to alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank [1, 2, 7, 6, 3]. In November 2024, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes [1, 5, 3, 4].
Tomoko Akane, a Japanese judge who became ICC President in 2024, condemned the sanctions and warned they threaten the international rule of law. She said, "The sanction against me this time was something I had anticipated to an extent, so I’m not surprised. The important thing is not to let this be the beginning of the demise of international rule of law" [8, 3, 9]. Japan called the sanctions "extremely regrettable" [9].
The ICC condemned the US sanctions as undermining the rule of law and threatening the international legal order [2, 5, 6]. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed serious concern, affirming the court as a key pillar of international justice. His spokesperson said, "The secretary-general expresses serious concern about this designation, as well as the ongoing designation of other International Criminal Court employees" [10]. Denmark’s foreign minister also called the sanctions "deeply concerning," emphasizing support for the ICC’s independence [11].
These sanctions continue a campaign by the Trump administration against the ICC. The US has sanctioned at least 12 ICC officials including former Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan and eight judges [1, 5, 3, 4, 11].
Tomoko Akane publicly warned against the "demise of international rule of law" on August 21, 2026, following the sanctions announcement [8].
