A prominent British lawyer, born in 1970, he served as Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, and held the position of British Crown Counsel. He is the third prosecutor at the International Court, and the first prosecutor elected by secret ballot. He investigates many war crimes around the world, one of which made him… The subject of controversy after he took on the defense of a Kenyan vice president accused of war crimes.
Birth and upbringing
Karim Asad Ahmed Khan was born in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, on March 30, 1970. His father worked as a doctor specializing in dermatology, his mother worked as a nurse, and his brother is the former British parliamentarian Imran Ahmed Khan, who faced a year and a half in prison due to his conviction for committing a sexual crime in 2017. 2008.
In 1993, he married Sahibzadi Yasmin Mona, daughter of Mirza Tahir Ahmad, whom the Ahmadiyya Qadiani community calls the “fourth Caliph the Messiah,” and who died in 2003.
The Qadianis are a religious group that appeared in India during the days of British colonialism. Its founder claimed that he was a prophet inspired by God Almighty, and demanded that people submit to the rule of the colonizer and be loyal to him.
Despite its assertion that it is a “Muslim sect,” Muslim scholars have disbelieved in it, and it has a presence in some Islamic and Arab countries, but its main field of work is in India, Pakistan, and Western countries.
Study and training
He continued his studies in law at King George’s College, University of London, and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Law with honors. He then entered the University of Cambridge, where he obtained a Master’s degree in International Law.
Professional experience
Khan is considered the third prosecutor of the International Criminal Court after his election in 2021, succeeding Fatou Bensouda, who was subjected to US sanctions. He is the first prosecutor to obtain the position by secret ballot in an election that the British newspaper The Guardian described as controversial, and said that Khan was not included in the shortlist for this position. It was added at the insistence of the Kenyan government.
Khan was a lawyer in the defense of Kenyan Vice President William Ruto, who is accused before the International Criminal Court of war crimes and crimes against humanity. This sparked controversy, especially after Ruto’s acquittal.
Ruto was accused of these crimes following the violence that followed the Kenyan presidential elections in 2007, which led to the deaths of 1,200 people.
In 2016, Khan also worked as a lawyer in the defense of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi – the son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi – following his trial following the events of the Arab Spring.
He also served as a special advisor and head of the United Nations investigative team to promote accountability for crimes committed by ISIS in Iraq in 2010.
Khan has represented victims of human rights violations in Africa and Asia, was elected second president of the International Chamber of Commerce Bar Association in July 2017, and is a global ambassador for the African Bar Association.
In addition, Khan has been a Crown Counsel and has extensive experience as a prosecutor, victims’ advocate and defense counsel in domestic and international criminal tribunals, including: International Criminal Court cases, the Extraordinary Chambers of the United Nations, the Courts of Cambodia, the Special Court for Lebanon, and the Special Court for Sierra Leone. .
He also served as Deputy Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in 2007, and served as a legal advisor to the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia and Rwanda during the war crimes investigation. He also led the International Court’s investigations into crimes committed in Ukraine, Syria and South Sudan.
Compositions
Khan co-authored the book “The Archbold International Criminal Courts”, which is a reference for international law and its practical practices in criminal courts.
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