In what is widely thought to be a smear campaign to obstruct the prosecution of Israeli leaders at the International Criminal Court (ICC), reports have emerged of allegations against Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan KC regarding his conduct with a female colleague. The alleged victim has not made a formal complaint, and Khan has vehemently denied the allegations.

“I absolutely can confirm there is no truth to suggestions of misconduct,” Khan is reported as saying. “This is a moment in which myself and the International Criminal Court are subject to a wide range of attacks and threats. In recent months my family including my wife and child have also been targeted.”

Israel has a history of intimidating, threatening and seeking to blackmail ICC officials in an effort to thwart the work of the court. In May, it emerged that the former head of Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, personally threatened Fatou Bensouda, the former chief prosecutor of the ICC, and her family in a series of covert meetings. The threats were part of a coordinated smear campaign by Israel to undermine Bensouda, which also involved Mossad actively seeking compromising information on the prosecutor and her family members.