ICC Judge Sanctioned by Trump: "I Can't Make a Single Transfer"

Solomy Balungi Bossa, a judge at the International Criminal Court (ICC), says her life has been turned upside down. The United States, under President Donald Trump, has blocked her bank accounts and frozen her phone apps. “I cannot make a bank transfer,” she told elDiario.es in Madrid. “My UN account, my credit cards, and most of my phone applications are blocked—from Gmail to WhatsApp.” Bossa, from Uganda, was sanctioned for her role in a 2020 ICC decision. The court voted unanimously to investigate possible war crimes in Afghanistan, including crimes by U.S. forces. Bossa was one of five judges on the appeals panel. But only two were targeted: Bossa and a female colleague from Peru. “I am a Black woman from the Global South. My colleague is a woman of color,” Bossa said. “The message is clear: they go after those who will make less noise.” The sanctions came five years after the decision. Bossa says the timing is linked to Trump’s return to power. “President Biden did nothing. Then Trump came and said we must be punished,” she explained. She called the sanctions a “witch hunt” and a violation of international law. The judge says the measures go beyond personal hardship. They threaten the entire international justice system. “They are punishing people who have committed no crime,” she said. “The prosecutor is also sanctioned. He cannot move cases forward. Victims do not get justice.” Bossa warned that powerful nations are undermining the rules they helped create. “The powers that should protect the world order are instead attacking justice,” she said. “The ICC has 125 member states. You cannot ignore the will of most countries just because you are powerful.” Despite the pressure, Bossa insists the court will not change its behavior. “We took an oath to apply the law faithfully. We do not make decisions to please any state,” she said. “International justice is starting to bite. And they do not like it.”