Washington, April 12 (RHC)-- Two human rights advocates represented by the American Civil Liberties Union have filed a lawsuit challenging President Trump’s imposition of sanctions against International Criminal Court (ICC) staff, including chief prosecutor Karim Khan.

In February, Trump signed an executive order imposing sanctions on ICC staff and barring US citizens from providing services benefitting them over the court’s pursuit of legal cases against Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza.

In a lawsuit filed on Friday in federal court in Bangor, Maine, Fortify Rights co-founder Matthew Smith and international human rights lawyer Akila Radhakrishnan argued the order unconstitutionally curtails their speech by preventing them from speaking with Khan.

The pair said the order bars them from providing legal advice and evidence to the ICC chief prosecutor, violating their rights under the First Amendment.  Smith and Radhakrishnan said they had been forced to cease their work with the ICC’s prosecutor’s office, in which they had been seeking justice for victims of atrocities worldwide.

“This executive order doesn’t just disrupt our work – it actively undermines international justice efforts and obstructs the path to accountability for communities facing unthinkable horrors,” Smith said.