Rubio says US sanctioning ICC judges for targeting Israel

 


Dec 18 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that the U.S. ⁠was sanctioning two judges ⁠of the International Criminal Court for ‍targeting Israel.

"Today, I am designating two International Criminal Court (ICC) judges, Gocha Lordkipanidze of Georgia and Erdenebalsuren Damdin of Mongolia, pursuant to Executive Order 14203," Rubio said in a statement, referring to the order President ;Donald Trump signed ‍in February sanctioning the ICC.

"These individuals ‍have directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli ⁠nationals, without Israel's consent," he ‍said.

The United ​States and Israel are not members of the ICC.

The U.S. sanctions in February include ;freezing any ⁠U.S. assets ‍of those designated and barring them and ‍their families from visiting ;the United ‍States.

(Reporting ​by Bhargav Acharya: Editing by Caitlin Webber)