Foreign affairs minister says she has 'utmost confidence' in ICC judge sanctioned by U.S.

Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Tuesday that she's spoken with a Canadian International Criminal Court judge who is facing U.S. sanctions — but made no mention of Washington's actions.

The U.S. government sanctioned Judge Kimberly Prost and three other ICC judges it said had been instrumental in a past decision to investigate U.S. officials and in efforts to prosecute Israeli leaders.

The State Department said last month that Prost was sanctioned for ruling to authorize the ICC's investigation into U.S. personnel in Afghanistan.

In her first public comments on the matter, Anand said she has the "utmost confidence" in Prost, but did not reference the sanctions.

WATCH | U.S. sanctions Canadian ICC judge:

Kimberly Prost, a Canadian judge on the International Criminal Court, has been slapped with sanctions by the Trump administration for ruling to authorize the ICC's investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity by U.S. personnel in Afghanistan. The sanctions come as the U.S. State Department unleashes a new wave of restrictions against judges it said were instrumental in efforts to prosecute Americans and Israelis.

"Members of the judiciary, including those who serve in international courts, are entrusted to be objective and impartial in the dispensation of their duties," Anand wrote.

"I thank Judge Prost, and all judges on the International Criminal Court, for their vital work in upholding the mission of this important judicial body."

ICC jurists Nicolas Guillou, of France; Nazhat Shameem Khan, of Fiji; and Mame Mandiaye Niang, of Senegal, were also sanctioned, with the State Department linking the decision to the tribunal's investigation into Israel's actions in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.