Threat of US sanctions over Gaza forced me out, says ICC lawyer

Andrew Cayley, who oversaw the war crimes investigation, tells Chloe Hadjimatheou about taking gruelling testimonies and threats of violence against him

- Chloe Hadjimatheou

In May 2024, a bipartisan group of US senators had arranged a virtual meeting with senior members of the International Criminal Court to discuss the Palestine case.

US politicians had already been threatening to retaliate against the court if it proceeded with the arrest warrants against Israel. Lindsey Graham, a staunch supporter of Israel, “was screaming at us,” recalls Andrew Cayley, then a senior ICC barrister.

Other ICC employees who were in that meeting have confirmed that Graham was threatening that they would face sanctions and that the court would be shut down. “Yeah, it was bad,” says Cayley.

I'm sitting with Cayley in The Observer offices just a week after he left the ICC. He’s only been back in London a few days and he's still reeling from his experience.

Cayley oversaw the investigation into alleged war crimes by Israel and Hamas for the ICC, a case that has presented a serious challenge for the world’s only permanent war crimes court. It has come at a personal cost to Cayley, now 61. “It was the worst few months of my life,” he tells me.

Back in early 2024, when the call came offering a job from the ICC, he knew it would be tough, but the chance to lead the Palestine investigation, with American lawyer Brenda Hollis, was enticing. From the outset it was obvious the case would not be easy. Israel is not a signatory to the court and doesn’t accept its jurisdiction, while its politicians have been openly hostile to the ICC. But Palestine is a member so the court has jurisdiction over crimes committed by its citizens and on its territory.