France calls on U.S. to drop sanctions against ICC staff

France called on the United States to withdraw sanctions on International Criminal Court prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Thursday. and put into question multilateralism and the independence of the judiciary," Le Drian said in a statement and pledged France's unwavering support for the court and its staff.

France called on the United States to withdraw sanctions on International Criminal Court prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Thursday. The U.S. on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Bensouda over her investigation into whether American forces committed war crimes in Afghanistan and said that Phakiso Mochochoko, head of the ICC's Jurisdiction, Complementarity and Cooperation Division, had also been blacklisted.

"The measures announced are a grave attack against the court ... and put into question multilateralism and the independence of the judiciary," Le Drian said in a statement and pledged France's unwavering support for the court and its staff.