ICC Issues Arrest Warrants for Taliban Leaders

(MENAFN) The International Criminal Court (ICC) announced on Tuesday that it has issued arrest orders for Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani.

They stand accused of perpetrating crimes against humanity and orchestrating widespread gender-based repression in Afghanistan following the Taliban’s resurgence to authority.

In an official declaration, the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber II stated that there are “reasonable grounds to believe” that Akhundzada and Haqqani engaged in the crime against humanity of persecution.

This was allegedly done by “ordering, inducing, or soliciting” discriminatory rules that particularly affected women, girls, and individuals who diverge from the Taliban's prescribed gender norms.

The chamber highlighted that from August 15, 2021—when the Taliban reclaimed governance of Afghanistan—until at least January 20, 2025, such actions resulted in broad and organized breaches of essential liberties and human rights.

As outlined by the court, the Taliban leadership enforced directives that drastically restricted the rights of girls and women.

These limitations included denial of access to education, suppression of movement and speech, and infringements on privacy, familial relationships, and freedoms of belief and religion.

The court also noted that individuals described as “allies of girls and women” faced political retaliation.

These actions, it found, were not limited to overt aggression but were embedded within systemic harm and oppressive societal expectations.

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