FACT CHECK: Mainstream media reported on US, Russia sanctions on ICC judges

Claim: Mainstream media did not report on the sanctions imposed by the United States and Russia on judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC), along with the impact of these sanctions.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: Such claims can be found in various Facebook posts circulating online. 

One is from an account named Joy T. Bantilao, which stated on December 18 that mainstream media had not reported on the US sanctions against ICC judges, which include the freezing of their bank accounts. As of writing, the post has around 2,600 reactions, 1,000 comments, and 264 shares.

Another is from an account named Maria Fema Duterte, which stated on December 14 that Philippine mainstream media did not report Russia’s sanctions on ICC officials, including the in absentia jail verdicts against the judges and chief prosecutor Karim Khan. As of writing, the post has 80 reactions, 4 comments, and 21 shares. 

The posts seem to suggest that mainstream media selectively reported on news about former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte’s war crimes case and detention at the ICC, and omitted reports about sanctions imposed on the officials of the international court.

The facts: Contrary to the claim, various mainstream media outlets in the Philippines reported on the sanctions imposed by the US and Russia against ICC officials. 

For the news on US sanctions, here are examples of reports that were up before the December 18 Facebook post from Joy T. Bantilao:

• A News5 article dated December 17 titled “US sanctions vs. ICC not linked to Duterte case – lawyer”
• An Inquirer.net article dated August 21 titled “US sanctions ICC judges, prosecutors tied to Israel, drug war probes,” which mentions a ban on owning property and a freeze on assets in the US for the sanctioned individuals
• An Inquirer.net article dated December 2 titled “ICC ‘under assault’ by US,  Russia – rights watchdog,” which mentions sanctions like freezing of assets, bans on entries, and possible refusal of activity between financial institutions and those sanctioned by the ICC
• A Rappler article dated December 10 titled “US threatens new ICC sanctions unless court pledges not to prosecute Trump.”

For the news on sanctions imposed by Russia, Inquirer.net posted an article dated December 13 titled “Russia sentences ICC judges, prosecutor over Putin arrest warrant.” The same link can be found on a post from their Facebook page.

Outside the Philippines, media outlets that reported on these sanctions and their impact include Reuters, AP News, CNN, Al-Jazeera, The Economic Times, and The Moscow Times.  

On the US and Russian sanctions: In December 2025, the US imposed sanctions on two more judges of the ICC over their involvement in the court’s November 2024 issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli defense chief Yoav Gallant over allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

According to a press statement from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the two judges have “directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals” without Israel’s consent. 

The US has previously issued sanctions on Khan in February 2025, and on ICC officials in June and August last year, also related to Netanyahu’s and Gallant’s warrants of arrest.

The ICC has recently issued a statement strongly rejecting the US sanctions.

In December, Russia sentenced Khan and other ICC judges to jail terms in response to the court’s March 2023 issuance of an arrest warrant for Russian president Vladimir Putin over alleged war crimes related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (READ: ICC judges seek Putin’s arrest citing war crimes in Ukraine)

Neither the US nor Russia is a member of the ICC.

Previous related fact-checks: Rappler has fact-checked various kinds of false claims pertaining to the ICC, especially regarding Duterte’s crimes against humanity case.

Examples of these include fabricated quotes, false reports that Duterte has returned to the Philippines after his March 11 arrest, false reports that his case has been dismissed already, and false claims that the media did not report on updates on the ICC and on Duterte’s case. – Percival Bueser/Rappler.com

Percival Bueser is a graduate of Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here.

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