After providing counsel on a war crimes case that led to the International Criminal Court issuing arrest warrants against Israeli officials, human rights lawyer Amal Clooney is at risk of being barred from entering the United States.
Amal Clooney could be barred from entering the United States as fallout grows from a controversial U.S. government crackdown on legal experts involved in war crimes investigations tied to Israel and Hamas.
According to reports, the acclaimed international human rights barrister has been privately warned by the UK’s Foreign Office that her involvement in advising the International Criminal Court (ICC) could trigger U.S. sanctions under an executive order issued by President Donald Trump.
The directive, aimed at penalizing ICC figures for pursuing arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others, has already led to visa bans and asset freezes.
Although George Clooney and Amal mostly reside in Italy and the United States, the couple also own property there, where George is currently performing on Broadway. Amal, who acted as an attorney for ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan, could be barred from American soil if additional sanctions are imposed.
According to a legal representative, “She might be thrown into this sweeping order simply because she does her job.” The ICC is accused of carrying out politically motivated prosecutions by the executive order, which also warns of “tangible & significant consequences” for those responsible.
The first victims of the sanctions were British judge Karim Khan and his family. Apparently, Lord Justice Adrian Fulford and Baroness Helena Kennedy have received similar advisories, with all of whom have weighed in on the legality of the ICC’s decision to issue arrest warrants for former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Netanyahu, which Trump has criticized as “illegitimate.”
Amal, 47, was appointed to a legal panel to support the prosecution’s case, which also included arrest warrants for senior Hamas figures who have been confirmed dead.
Clooney stated in a statement that “this wasn’t about politics; it was about the law.” I appoint this panel because I think the protection of civilian lives is essential.
Tensions between Clooney and Trump are not new. The former president lashed out at George Clooney last year, branding him a “second-rate actor” and a “Hollywood has-been” after the star publicly distanced himself from President Joe Biden’s re-election efforts.
Amal, who was one of the country’s most prominent human rights advocates, was born in Lebanon during the civil war. She has worked for victims of mass atrocities, from Yazidi genocide survivors to persecuted journalists, and has dual-qualified in both the US and the UK.
She received strong online criticism for her position on the Israel-Gaza conflict in 2024, winning the Legal 500’s award for international lawyer of the year. Regardless of the causes of a conflict, she said, “the laws of war apply to every country.”
Should sanctions expand, Amal could find herself among the growing list of UK legal figures facing transatlantic travel bans and asset freezes – a startling development for one of the world’s most respected human rights lawyers.
The Mirror has approached Amal’s representatives for comment on this story.
Source: Mirror
Leave a Reply