Afghanistan Peace Campaign
The Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced that arrest warrants have been issued for Hibatullah Akhundzada, the leader of the Taliban, and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, the Taliban’s chief justice.
Karim Khan, in a statement published on the ICC’s official website, confirmed that his office has submitted two requests for arrest warrants to the ICC’s Second Pre-Trial Chamber.
As of now, the Taliban has not issued an official statement regarding the ICC’s request for arrest warrants against its leaders, Hibatullah Akhundzada and Abdul Hakim Haqqani.
The statement mentioned that the gathered evidence provided reasonable grounds to believe that “Akhundzada and Haqqani are criminally responsible for crimes against humanity and gender-based violence.”
According to Karim Khan, his office concluded that these two Afghan nationals are responsible for the persecution and torture of Afghan girls and women, as well as individuals who do not conform to the Taliban’s ideological views on gender identity.
The statement further noted that the abuse and torture of Afghan women and their allies have been ongoing throughout Afghanistan since August 2021 (the fall of Kabul).
The continuous abuse has deprived Afghan women of their fundamental rights, including physical integrity, freedom of movement, education, privacy, family life, and the right to free assembly, in violation of international law.
Karim Khan’s office also stated that the Taliban has committed other crimes, including murder, imprisonment, torture, sexual assault, forced disappearances, and other inhuman acts.
The statement emphasized that the Taliban’s interpretation of Sharia law should not and cannot justify the deprivation of basic human rights.
So far, the Taliban has not officially responded to the arrest requests for its leaders.
Karim Khan’s office has expressed its readiness to cooperate fully in efforts to arrest the Taliban leaders if the ICC judges issue the arrest warrants and has called on ICC member states to assist in enforcing the warrants.
Investigations into the actions of the Taliban and ISIS-Khorasan in Afghanistan are ongoing. Karim Khan’s office remains committed to ensuring that the Afghan people, who have long suffered injustice, receive accountability and justice.