If you want to see how far U.S. sanctions can reach, ask Kimberly Prost's Alexa. After the United States sanctioned her, the Canadian judge at the International Criminal Court began losing access to services from companies in different countries. Her credit cards were also canceled.
"You start to lose services from American companies, Amazon, Google, potentially Apple, whatever it may be," she told Morning Edition. "Completely randomly, though, you don't know when something's going to happen." One of those moments came during an ordinary moment at home. "I went home and Alexa wouldn't talk to me," she told NPR's Steve Inskeep.
Her credit cards, issued in the Netherlands and Canada, were canceled. She has managed to keep some bank accounts, but says her banking services are extremely limited and even small transfers can be blocked. The sanctions themselves are American.
Still, businesses abroad may comply because they have ties to the U.S. "We have this massive overcompliance by companies," she said. One of the most serious examples is her health insurance.
Prost receives coverage through AXA, the French company that provides insurance for the court. She says the company has refused to pay her claims even though it is not legally required to follow the U.S. sanctions. Her phone still works — "so far" — but some email, cloud and other technology services are limited.
She has lived with the restrictions for more than a year. Prost said her sanction stems from Trump's executive order targeting ICC officials involved in cases concerning Israel and Gaza or Afghanistan. At the time, Prost was temporarily serving on the ICC's Appeals Chamber when prosecutors sought authorization to open an investigation into alleged crimes connected to the war in Afghanistan.
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