GENEVA - UN human rights experts* today condemned the Moscow City Court's conviction of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and eight sitting ICC judges, calling it a flagrant violation of international law.
"These convictions are legally null and void under international law," the experts said. "It is an unprecedented attempt to criminalise the exercise of independent judicial and prosecutorial functions of an international court."
On 12 December 2025, the Moscow City Court convicted ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan and eight ICC judges on charges related to "unlawful prosecution of Russian citizens", sentencing them to terms of imprisonment ranging from 3.5 to 15 years. Prosecutor Khan received a 15‑year sentence, and all defendants were convicted in absentia and declared internationally wanted.
"Threats against the ICC promote a culture of impunity and send a dangerous signal, implying that States can use domestic jurisdictions to intimidate those tasked with investigating and prosecuting the most serious crimes under international law," the Special Rapporteurs said.
They noted that the charges stem directly from the ICC's judicial activities relating to alleged war crimes committed in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine, including the issuance of arrest warrants against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova in March 2023 for the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children from the occupied Ukrainian territories to Russia.
The experts stressed that ICC judges and prosecutors enjoy the functional immunity accorded to them under the Rome Statute for acts performed in the exercise of their official functions, and that no domestic court may assert criminal jurisdiction over core judicial acts of an international tribunal.
"The proceedings violate, among others, Russia's obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights," they said, including the prohibition of arbitrary detention, the right to a fair trial before an independent and impartial tribunal, and the principle of legality.
"Trials in absentia conducted without effective notification, access to independent legal counsel, or the possibility of mounting a defence fall short of minimum due process standards," the experts said.
"This case follows a broader pattern of transnational repression by Russian authorities aimed at silencing dissent and anti-war expression beyond Russia's borders," they said, noting Russia's growing use of criminal proceedings in absentia against Russian exiled critics of the war against Ukraine, human rights defenders, journalists, academics, and individuals cooperating with UN mechanisms and international courts.
"The latest attack on ICC officials is part of a deliberate and calculated strategy which exposes the profound insecurity of a Government that fears accountability," they said.
The experts called on the Russian Government to annul the convictions, withdraw arrest warrants, end the abuse of criminal law against international judicial officials as well as critics abroad, and comply with international human rights obligations.
"No State may invoke sovereignty to shield itself from accountability," they said.
"Attempts by Russia or other UN Member States to undermine the ICC through reprisals against judicial independence and intimidation of the ICC's officials must end," they warned. "These efforts to dismantle the architecture of international justice set a dangerous precedent of undermining international law - allowing politicisation and avoidance of accountability. They cannot be tolerated."
The experts have communicated their concerns to the Russian Government.
