Why George Clooney's wife Amal could face ban from the US amid Trump's controversial new sanctions
Amal Clooney could find herself unable to enter the US in the near future.
Amal is married to Academy Award-winning actor George Clooney. The celebrity pair wed in 2014 and now share seven-year-old twins Ella and Alexander.
But away from her superstar husband, Amal is a well-known figure in her own right and is one of the leading human rights lawyers in the world.
Some of her high profile cases over the years include representing former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Mohamed Nasheed (the former president of the Maldives), as well as the two Reuters journalists who were detained in Myanmar in 2017.
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Meanwhile, her recent work has allegedly included advising the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Israel’s conduct in Gaza, and it's this claim that may have landed her in hot water with the Trump administration.
In a recent article published by the Financial Times, it was reported that the UK has issued a warning to British lawyers that they might face sanctions in the US.
These warnings have reportedly been sent from Britain’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to senior lawyers involved in the ICC’s war crimes case against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The UK-issued warnings come after Donald Trump signed a controversial executive order back in February regarding those working with the ICC on bringing charges against Netanyahu.
What does Trump's ICC executive order say?
The executive order claims the court 'engaged in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel'.
It continues: "The ICC has, without a legitimate basis, asserted jurisdiction over and opened preliminary investigations concerning personnel of the United States and certain of its allies, including Israel, and has further abused its power by issuing baseless arrest warrants targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant."
The order goes on to threaten to 'impose tangible and significant consequences on those responsible for the ICC’s transgressions' which may include 'the blocking of property and assets, as well as the suspension of entry into the United States of ICC officials, employees, and agents, as well as their immediate family members'.
It's believed that the Clooneys mainly reside at their home in France, but they're currently living in New York while Oceans 8 star George features in the Broadway play Good Night, and Good Luck.
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan was named in the order as one of the individuals that's facing sanctions.
UNILAD have approached reps for Amal and George Clooney for comment.
Niamh Shackleton