By Anish Chand in Suva
Fiji lawyer Nazhat Shameem Khan has been elevated to the top prosecutorial position at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
The Office of the Prosecutor at ICC has announced that deputy prosecutors Nazhat Shameem Khan and Mame Mandiaye Niang have taken over leadership following chief prosecutor Karim AA Khan KC’s temporary leave of absence.
Khan stepped aside on May 16, 2025, pending the outcome of a UN Office of Internal Oversight Services investigation into alleged misconduct.
The ICC states the deputy prosecutors will continue to rely on the support and collaboration of the Rome Statute community, and all partners, in carrying the office’s mandate forward.
In 2014, Nazhat Khan was appointed Fiji’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva and Vienna, and to Switzerland and took up the ICC post in 2021.
Pacific Media Watch notes that Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan had issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes in Gaza, and also against three Hamas leaders who have been killed in the war on Gaza. In contrast to most of the world’s condemnation and a majority of UN members, Fiji supports Israel and its main backer, United States, in the war.
Republished from The Fiji Times with permission.
Statement by the Presidency of the Assembly of States Parties regarding the situation of the Office of the Prosecutor #RomeStatute #ICC #ASP pic.twitter.com/Tq1eD5N36B
— Paivi Kaukoranta (@PASPKaukoranta) May 18, 2025
