US sanctions International Criminal Court chief Tomoko Akane of Japan

JUST IN: US sanctions International Criminal Court president Tomoko Akane of Japan and a senior trial lawyer, barring them from entering the US or using the US financial system, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announces.

The United States just sanctioned the president of the International Criminal Court. Her name is Tomoko Akane, she's a Japanese judge, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced it today along with sanctions on a senior trial lawyer at the court. She can no longer enter the US or touch its financial system.

Think about what that means in practice. A judge from Japan, one of America's closest allies, treated the way Washington usually treats arms dealers and cartel bosses. Her salary, her bank access, any dollar transaction anywhere in the world, all of it now radioactive.

The court has faced American sanctions before over its investigations, but going after the sitting president is a different level. It puts every member state, including Japan, in an awkward spot, back your judge or keep quiet.

The hardest fact tonight is this. The world's top war crimes court is now led by someone the United States treats as a sanctioned entity.

This is Liu Yang, reporting for HIT.

Source Read the original reporting at channelnewsasia.com