BRUSSELS: A French judge at the International Criminal Court has urged the EU to block US sanctions that have seen his bank card stopped and him cut off from internet services.

Nicolas Guillou was among several ICC judges blacklisted by Washington in August after an arrest warrant was issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over war crimes in Gaza.

That move led his bank to cancel his Visa card as it is an American system, and also saw him blocked from using US-owned internet services.

“The most problematic aspect is when it affects services for which there is no European alternative,” Guillou said before meeting EU officials in Brussels on Tuesday.

The judge said he wanted the European Commission to put forward legislation to bar companies from implementing the US sanctions on European soil.

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2026