ICC prosecutor Karim Khan's sister-in-law to represent Maduro in court

Venkateswari Alagendra, sister-in-law of Karim Khan, the International Criminal Court prosecutor in charge of investigations into crimes by Nicolás Maduro's regime against opponents, will represent the Bolivarian Regime before the same court. Khan has been asked to recuse himself, which the prosecutor's team rejects, assuring that Alagendra's involvement will not interfere at all in his objectivity when it comes to prosecuting the crimes of the Venezuelan dictatorship.

In statements reported by The Washington Post, Khan stated that "The composition of the legal team representing Venezuela in the proceedings in which the Office successfully defended its right to assert jurisdiction in this situation is a matter of public record. We understand that no objection was raised by any party to the proceedings at the time."

The code of conduct of the OTP obliges its members to refrain from any conflict that may arise from "personal interest in the case, including a spousal, parental or other close family, personal or professional relationship with any of the parties." The ICC prosecutor stated that he is "closely monitoring" developments in Venezuela and "independently and impartially" analyzing the alleged crimes, regardless of who is on the dictator's legal team.

Khan's questionable relationship with the Venezuelan regime

Alagendra herself noted that when she appeared with the Venezuelan team before the ICC for the first time, no one raised any objection to her presence: "The team [representing Maduro] filed a legal challenge against the investigation. Khan objected very strongly and unfortunately, we lost."

The presence of his sister-in-law on Maduro's legal team is not the only controversy the prosecutor in charge of the Venezuela investigation faces. While doing his work for the International Criminal Court, Khan has opened an office in Caracas to help the government improve its own investigative capacity, reports The Washington Post.