The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Haibatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the Taliban and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, the Taliban’s chief justice. The Hague-based court announced the warrants on Tuesday, relating to the situation in Afghanistan since the Taliban assumed de facto control on August 15, 2021.
According to Pre-Trial Chamber II of the ICC, there are “sufficient grounds to believe” that Akhundzada and Haqqani bear responsibility for crimes against humanity, specifically for ordering, instigating, or aiding and abetting persecution on gender-based grounds.
The Chamber determined that the Taliban have implemented government policies contributing to severe violations of fundamental rights and freedoms of the civilian population in Afghanistan. Particularly, girls and women have been systematically deprived of fundamental rights based on their gender. These violations encompass, but are not limited to, the right to education, privacy and family life, as well as freedoms of movement, expression, thought, conscience and religion. Individuals whose sexual orientation or gender identity diverge from Taliban policies have also been subjected to persecution.
The arrest warrants will remain sealed for the time being to protect victims and witnesses and to ensure the integrity of the proceedings. However, the Chamber deemed it justifiable to make the existence of the warrants public in order to deter further commission of these crimes.