THE HAGUE, Netherlands (CN) - The International Criminal Court on Tuesday unsealed arrest warrants for two senior Taliban officials, the court's first charges against Afghanistan's de facto rulers since the group seized control of the country in August 2021.
A panel of ICC judges issued arrest warrants for Haibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban's supreme leader, and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, the group's chief justice, after reviewing evidence from the court's prosecutor. The judges found solid reasons to believe the two men led a campaign of persecution that targeted women, girls, and people seen as supporting their rights.
According to the chamber, the purported crimes occurred in Afghanistan from August 2021 to at least January 2025, and include systemic persecution of girls, women, and people not conforming to the Taliban's policies on gender identity or expression, as well as individuals perceived as allies of girls and women.
The judges found the Taliban had implemented a "governmental policy that resulted in severe violations of fundamental rights and freedoms of the civilian population of Afghanistan," perpetrating acts including murder, imprisonment, torture, rape and forced disappearance. While some restrictions applied broadly to the population, the chamber noted girls and women were specifically targeted, stripped of rights to education, privacy, family life, movement, expression, thought, conscience and religion through Taliban decrees and edicts.
The chamber also emphasized that gender persecution includes not only acts of direct violence, but also "systemic and institutionalized forms of harm including the imposition of discriminatory societal norms." Those who passively opposed or failed to conform to such policies, including individuals labeled as "allies" of women, were also targeted and viewed as political threats, the court said.
While the arrest warrants remain under seal to protect victims and witnesses, the chamber decided to publicly disclose their existence, citing the ongoing nature of the crimes and the interest of justice.
The ICC Office of the Prosecutor welcomed the chamber's decision, describing it as an important vindication and acknowledgment of the rights of Afghan women and girls. The prosecutor added that the arrest warrants also recognize the experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals and others whom the Taliban allegedly targeted as ideological deviants.
"Through the Taliban's deprivation of fundamental rights to education, privacy and family life, among others, Afghan women and girls were increasingly erased from public life," the prosecutor's office said in its statement. "The decision of the judges of the ICC affirms that their rights are valuable, and that their plight and voices matter."
This affirmation follows a yearslong effort by the court to pursue accountability for crimes in Afghanistan. The ICC's investigation into crimes in Afghanistan dates back to a 2003 jurisdictional authorization, but only gained full approval in 2020 after the Appeals Chamber overturned a previous rejection.
In 2022, the court allowed prosecutors to resume their work, citing a lack of genuine investigations by Afghan authorities. Since then, a dedicated team led by Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan has focused on abuses committed by the Taliban. The arrest warrant applications were filed on Jan. 23, 2025, supported by a referral from six member states - Chile, Costa Rica, Spain, France, Luxembourg and Mexico.
"The office will work closely with the registry as well as with states parties and non-states parties in seeking to enforce the arrest warrants," the prosecutor's office said.
The court retains jurisdiction over crimes committed in Afghanistan, which joined the Rome Statute that created the ICC in 2003. Prosecutors said the investigation will continue, including into abuses by Islamic State - Khorasan Province.
Source: Courthouse News Service
