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The ICC’s announcement was welcomed by women’s rights groups, who had called for Khan to step down after the allegations emerged last year.

鈥淚n any other professional setting, someone facing such serious allegations would have been expected to step down months ago,鈥� said Eimear Shine, a spokesperson for The Hague-based Women鈥檚 Initiatives for Gender Justice.

An by The Associated Press last year found that two court employees, in whom the alleged victim confided, reported the alleged misconduct in May 2024 to the court鈥檚 independent watchdog. That was a few weeks before Khan , his defense minister and three Hamas leaders on war crimes charges.

The watchdog said it interviewed the woman and ended its inquiry after five days when she opted against filing a formal complaint. Khan himself wasn鈥檛 questioned at the time.

While the watchdog could not determine wrongdoing, it nonetheless urged Khan in a memo to minimize contact with the woman to protect the rights of all involved and safeguard the court鈥檚 integrity.

The ICC statement on Friday said Khan 鈥渃ommunicated his decision to take leave until the end鈥� of an external investigation being carried by the Office of Internal Oversight Services, the

The court鈥檚 deputy prosecutors will be in charge of managing the prosecutor鈥檚 office while Khan is on leave, the statement said.

The work of the court will continue, according to Danya Chaikel, the ICC representative from the International Federation for Human Rights. 鈥淭he cases and investigations have been carried out by professionals,鈥� she told the AP.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration filed sanctions against Khan in February in relation to his Israel warrants. The sanctions are on a broad array of investigations at the court.