The International Criminal Court (ICC) today issued arrest warrants for the Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhunzada, and the head of Afghanistan’s Supreme Court, Abdul Hakim Haqqani. The charges stem from the persecution of women and girls since the Taliban seized power nearly four years ago.
Charges Include Gender and Political Persecution
The warrants also accuse the leaders of persecuting “other persons non-conforming with the Taliban’s policy on gender, gender identity or expression; and on political grounds against persons perceived as ‘allies of girls and women.’“
In its statement, the court highlighted that the Taliban have “severely deprived, through decrees and edicts, girls and women of the rights to education, privacy and family life and the freedoms of movement, expression, thought, conscience and religion.” Additionally, it noted that “other persons were targeted because certain expressions of sexuality and/or gender identity were regarded as inconsistent with the Taliban’s policy on gender.”
Prosecutor’s Initiative and Human Rights Watch Support
The court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, sought these warrants in January, stating at the time that they recognized “Afghan women and girls as well as the LGBTQI+ community are facing an unprecedented, unconscionable and ongoing persecution by the Taliban.”
The global advocacy group Human Rights Watch welcomed the decision. Liz Evenson, the group’s international justice director, commented in a statement: “Senior Taliban leaders are now wanted men for their alleged persecution of women, girls, and gender non-conforming people. The international community should fully back the ICC in its critical work in Afghanistan and globally, including through concerted efforts to enforce the court’s warrants.“
