NGO calls for ICC prosecutor to be recusal in case against Maduro

The Washington DC-based Arcadia Foundation announced on Sunday that it has filed a formal request to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the recusal of Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan in a case against Nicolás Maduro.

The petition alleges a conflict of interest that “compromises the impartiality of the prosecutor and puts the integrity of the judicial process at risk“, with implications for the credibility of the ICC.

The conflict of interest, according to the petition, is said to arise from Khan’s family relationship with Venkateswari Alagendra, Maduro’s defense attorney in the case.

The alleged link, according to the Arcadia Foundation, has generated “concerns about the impartiality required in the functions of the prosecutor”as stipulated in the Rome Statute, the governing document of the International Criminal Court.

The NGO calls for Khan’s immediate recusal and removal from all proceedings related to the Venezuela I case, and requests the appointment of an independent prosecutor to ensure that the investigation and prosecution continue “without bias or appearance of conflict of interest.”

It also calls for an investigation into ICC ethics violations to determine whether the prosecutor’s failure to disclose his conflict of interest constitutes a violation of his ethical obligations and the ICC Code of Conduct.

And it proposes a public statement from the Court addressing “the conflict of interest” and outlining the steps taken to “preserve the integrity of the process in order to restore public confidence in its impartiality.”

Karim Khan’s sister-in-law is Maduro’s lawyer at the ICC

The Washington Post had reported on Friday that Venkateswari Alagendrawho has joined the team defending Maduro before the ICC, is Khan’s sister-in-law.

Arcadia, an organization that promotes and defends human rights, as it defines itself, points out that “the family relationship between the prosecutor and Alagendra impacts the independence and impartiality required by the ICC,” especially since this is a case that “involves Nicolás Maduro as the perpetrator of crimes against humanity.”

The organization maintains that the prosecutor “should have stepped aside from the case ‘motu proprio’ out of ethical conviction.” “The mere appearance of bias is enough to undermine the confidence of the public, victims and the international community” in the ICC, it asserts.

The formal request for Karim Khan’s recusal is signed by Robert Carmona-Borjas, co-founder of the organization, and José Vicente Carrasquero, its Director of Conflict Resolution Strategies.