ICC prosecutor says Dutch gov't did nothing when Israel intimidated her in The Hague

Former prosecutor Fatou Bensouda of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague said that Israel intimidated and pressured her while she was working and living in the Dutch city. She reported the incident to the Dutch government and authorities, but they did little to nothing, the Gambian former ICC prosecutor told Al Jazeera in an interview.

It started shortly after she started investigating Israel’s actions in Palestine in 2015. Two men showed up at her home in The Hague and gave her an envelope with $500 inside, saying it was from someone she had helped. She reported the incident to the ICC and the Dutch authorities.

“The assessment that was made was that it was to show me that they know where I live, that was the purpose,” Bensouda told Al Jazeera. She said the police concluded that the car the men were using had been rented from the airport earlier in the day and that their telephone numbers were Israeli. “I do not think the Dutch authorities did more.”

She said the incident left her feeling not intimidated, but definitely insecure. “I, of course, expected more support,” Bensouda said. “When it came to support from the Dutch government, I’m not aware of anything extra that was done to support me at the time.”

Bensouda also had several encounters with Yossi Cohen, who headed the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad between 2016 and 2021, and in each meeting, he told her to stop investigating Palestine. “What was very clear is that they did not want the investigations into the situation in Palestine to go on,” she said. “That I needed to stop.”

The former ICC spokesperson said that the states that established the ICC have a responsibility to protect the Court and the people who work there. And that responsibility starts with the state where the Court is established.

Several Dutch parliamentarians responded to Bensouda’s statements to RTL Nieuws, with D66, PRO, and VVD stressing that ICC staff must be supported in their work, and that it is the Netherlands’ responsibility to ensure that.

“It is unacceptable that foreign powers make the work of the ICC impossible through intimidation, threats, and espionage practices,” MP Hanneke van de Werf of coalition party D66 said. “If we prefer to accept that ICC staff are treated in this way, with all the consequences for their work, then we should not have become the host country. The Cabinet has work to do; these people need to feel supported. “

“As the host country, the Netherlands should take the lead in protecting the ICC and its staff,” said PRO MP Kati Piri. “It is painful and unacceptable that Chief Prosecutor Bensouda reported an Israeli intimidation campaign to the Dutch authorities in vain. This calls for an explanation from the government.”

VVD MP Nicole Maes agreed. “The Netherlands is the host country of the ICC. It is important that the staff of the Court can carry out their important work. As far as the VVD is concerned, the Minister will make every effort to ensure this.”