NEW YORK (VINnews) — International Criminal Court (ICC) judge Nicolas Guillou has revealed that he is facing severe restrictions on daily life, including being unable to access bank accounts or online services, due to US sanctions imposed on him after he participated in issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

According to Guillou, nearly all financial and digital services in France are US-controlled, leaving him cut off from basic transactions and online platforms.

The French judge, who presided over the ICC panel that issued the warrant in 2024, said he could no longer use his bank card, order from Amazon, book through Airbnb, or complete transactions on Expedia and Booking.com.

“We are going 30 years back in time. It’s like a time machine returning us to a pre-digital world,” he told France TV.

French President Emmanuel Macron has reportedly written seven letters requesting the lifting of the sanctions, but US authorities have yet to respond favourably. A source at the Elysee told the broadcaster that France continues to pursue the matter through diplomatic channels and regretted the lack of a positive response from Washington.

Guillou said he expects to remain on the sanctions list for the duration of US President Donald Trump’s second term. He warned of the wider consequences for democratic institutions, saying, “If prosecutors are afraid to prosecute, if lawyers are afraid to defend, if judges are afraid to judge, if parliamentarians are afraid to pass laws and if ministers are afraid to enforce them, there is no more democracy.” He added that such individuals would act “exclusively out of fear” of punishment.

Beti Hohler, another ICC judge sanctioned by the United States, said that “The sanctions have had and continue to have a real impact on my life. As sanctioned persons, we and our family members are banned from travelling to the United States. My colleagues [at the ICC] with assets in the U.S. have seen those assets frozen. As a sanctioned person, I no longer have access to American products and services, even in Europe. My Apple ID, iCloud, Amazon, Airbnb, PayPal, and other accounts have all been blocked or cancelled. These cancellations happened overnight without advance warning.”

Judge Beti Hohler

Hohler said she was especially concerned by “the compliance of European financial operators” with US sanctions. “A European bank whose client I was for decades, announced that it was closing my bank account a day after I was sanctioned. My account was then closed within days. I have experienced disruptions in paying bills and transferring funds within Europe. Although a transaction may be between two European banks, in euros without any U.S. nexus, it may still get rejected. This is because a bank will automatically reject payments to and from a sanctioned individual.”

She also reported the effects of sanctions on family members – visas revoked for children, education and employment opportunities disrupted. “Living with US sanctions means living in constant uncertainty. A bank card that works today may not work tomorrow. An insurance company that insures your house today may terminate that contract tomorrow. We are discovering new obstacles every week.”

The ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on November 21, 2024, for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip from at least October 8, 2023, through May 20, 2024.