Double Down News just posted a 20 minute interview with Francesca Albanese on YouTube.
Watch it here.

Last week, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, was removed over sexual misconduct allegations. An official investigation failed to establish these allegations as fact.

Khan, with the backing of the ICC, issued an arrest warrant against Israel’s prime minister Netanyahu and defence minister Gallant (as well as key Hamas figures). Now it appears Israel played a key role in getting Khan removed.

Of course, the US also sanctioned Khan and many others within the ICC and is now actively seeking to dismantle the court.

Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories and herself sanctioned by the US for her work, frames Khan’s dismissal in a new light.

She does not excuse the alleged misconduct (neither do I, to be clear) but points to the entire process and what has happened behind the scenes. Something’s not right here.

While the ICC is not a European or EU court, to me the silence of European and EU leaders is unforgivable. There’s has been virtually no response to any of the sanctions nor to the back door actions of hostile parties such as Israel and the US. There’s been no statements in defence of the ICC after the US public statements seeking to dismantle the court.
In the meantime, the breakdown of international law and institutions (while imperfect) will bring harm to us all.

  • atro_city@fedia.io
    11·
    2 days ago

    How so? Wasn’t he accused of maltreating women (strangers and partners) and had to drop out without any court case i.e due to allegations?

    • lieven@europe.pubOPEnglish
      3·
      2 days ago

      First of all, there were multiple issues with Platner beyond the allegations. He also kept changing his story which made him unreliable.

      He also was not removed, people called on him to step down but he made the call. He could have refused - it would not have made him friends but it was within his right to remain the candidate.

      More importantly, he did not have arrest warrants out for some of the worst people in global politics that are somehow revered by much of the rest of the world. He also did not work for an institution grounded in international law others are seeking to dismantle.
      Not quite at the same scale as someone running for US senate, let alone the numbers of the people of Maine vs the people of 125 independent countries.

      • atro_city@fedia.io
        1·
        2 days ago

        He also was not removed, people called on him to step down but he made the call. He could have refused - it would not have made him friends but it was within his right to remain the candidate.

        There was no need for him to stay, the kangaroo court had already decided. If the allegations are false, it could be seen as a removal from the race.

        As for arrest warrants and so on, Platner’s goals were directly opposed to the Epstein class. Taxing the uber-rich for one, pisses that class off quite a bit as they suddenly have to contribute to the society they are stealing from. Accountability is toxic to them, so he was shaping up to be a thorn in their side.

        So yes, while they are different people at different levels, the parallels are:

        • getting dangerous for the upper class
        • allegedly hurt women
        • removed or forced to vacate an existing or future position of power
        • lieven@europe.pubOPEnglish
          1·
          2 days ago

          Any connection is tangential at best and the forces against either are wholly different, and so is the nature of the allegations and everything else that surrounds them.

          Either way this is not a thread about Platner, I won’t entertain this further.

          • atro_city@fedia.io
            11·
            2 days ago

            Any connection is tangential at best and the forces against either are wholly different, and so is the nature of the allegations and everything else that surrounds them.

            🤷 I can’t blame you for wanting to be blissfully ignorant. It does help.