Scottish human rights lawyer seeks to overturn US sanctions against ICC

Steven Watt

Steven Watt, a senior attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) human rights programme, is part of a landmark legal action against the former president’s administration’s decision to impose sanctions as well as visa restrictions on staff from the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

An executive order from last year treats any attempts by the court to investigate, arrest or prosecute any US national as an “extraordinary threat” against the country’s national security.

Mr Watt, who studied law at Aberdeen University before obtaining his diploma from Edinburgh University, is one of the four plaintiffs in a legal action to have the order invalidated.

He said: “The ICC represents the last hope for justice for my clients, survivors and victims of war crimes committed by the CIA in Afghanistan.”

He added: “The Trump administration’s unprecedented abuse of sanctions power tries to extinguish that hope. The executive order is disastrous for accountability and justice, and it violates the first amendment.”

While President Joe Biden has issued a number of executive orders since taking office last month to overturn Trump administration policies, the ICC order remains in place.

The US State Department said, however, that the sanctions arising from the order would be “thoroughly reviewed.”

Aaron Madrid, a spokesman for the union, told Scotland on Sunday: “At this time, we will continue to pursue this lawsuit, as the Trump executive order has not been rescinded. If President Biden rescinds the order, we will reevaluate and may drop the case.”