Spain Seeks European Block on U.S. Sanctions Against ICC
Spain wants the European Union to shield ICC officials from U.S. sanctions that could freeze assets, restrict travel and disrupt banking services.
- On Wednesday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez asked the European Commission to activate the Blocking Statute, seeking to shield International Criminal Court officials and Francesca Albanese from foreign sanctions.
- President Donald Trump signed an executive order last February sanctioning the ICC after it issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant regarding Gaza war crimes.
- The ICC stated sanctions "harm its independent and impartial judicial work," potentially restricting officials' access to property as investigations continue into a campaign that has killed at least 72,000 Palestinians.
- Following the request, Albanese thanked Sanchez for his "principled stance," while Sanchez warned that sanctioning those defending international justice "puts the entire human rights system at risk."
- Designed to shield entities within the European Union, the Blocking Statute serves as a legal mechanism to protect officials as the administration claimed Albanese's criticism helped to "prompt" the ICC investigation.
24 Articles
24 Articles
Sánchez sent a letter to the European Commission on the eve requesting that the US sanctions imposed on Albanian and the judges and prosecutors of the International Criminal Court be lifted in the EU.
Spain has called on the European Commission to launch a European blocking act to protect the independence of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the UN, after the US imposed sanctions last year against several ICC judges and prosecutors, including Slovenian Beti Hohler.
'Spain Does Not Look the Other Way': Sánchez Calls on EU to Block Israel-US Sanctions on ICC
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez asked the European Commission on Wednesday to block compliance with US sanctions against the International Criminal Court over its arrest warrants against Israeli leaders for war crimes in Gaza.
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