ICC prosecutor seeks warrant for Taliban leaders over abuse of women. taliban news
Prosecutor Karim Khan says there are reasonable grounds to believe that crimes against humanity are being committed against women and girls in Afghanistan.
The top prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has applied for arrest warrants for two Taliban leaders in Afghanistan, including supreme spiritual leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, accusing them of abusing women and girls.
A statement released on Thursday by the office of ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan said investigators found reasonable grounds to believe that Akhundzada and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, who has served as chief justice since 2021, “on gender Take criminal responsibility for the crimes against humanity of torture.” Field”
“They are criminally responsible for committing atrocities against Afghan girls and women… and people whom the Taliban considered allies of girls and women,” the statement said.
There was no immediate comment from Taliban leaders on the prosecutor’s statement.
Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, it has curbed women’s rights, including limits on schooling, work and general freedoms in daily life.
The ICC’s three-judge panel will now be expected to decide on the prosecution request, with no deadline set. Such processes take an average of three months.
It is the first time ICC prosecutors have publicly sought a warrant in the investigation into potential war crimes in Afghanistan, which dates back to 2007 and once included alleged crimes by US forces there.
Khan said his office is demonstrating its commitment to holding accountability for gender-based crimes and that the Taliban’s interpretation of Islamic Sharia law cannot be a justification for human rights abuses or crimes.
“Afghanistan’s women and girls, as well as the LGBTQI+ community, face unprecedented, unconscionable and ongoing oppression by the Taliban. “Our actions indicate that the status quo is unacceptable for women and girls in Afghanistan,” the prosecutor said.
Zalmai Nishat, founder of the United Kingdom-based charity Mosaic Afghanistan, said that if an ICC warrant is issued, it may have little impact on Akhundzada, who rarely travels outside Afghanistan.
“But in terms of the international prestige of the Taliban, it basically means a complete erosion of their international legitimacy, if they have any,” he said.
‘Existential crisis at ICC?’
Khan’s move comes amid a crisis at the court, which was opened in The Hague in 2002 to try those accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and aggression.
The administration of US President Donald Trump is preparing to impose new sanctions against the court after it issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Moscow issued its own warrant for Khan, hitting back at the ICC for a 2023 warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin for alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
Despite a recent series of high-profile arrest warrants, the courts in The Hague are almost empty and Khan is under investigation for alleged sexual misconduct in the workplace, which he denies.
The ICC also has no police force and is dependent on its 125 member states for arrests.
But some European member states have expressed skepticism over Netanyahu’s detention. Separately this week, Italy arrested an ICC suspect but failed to hand him over to court.
