The International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Taliban leader
The International Criminal Court has announced that arrest warrants have been issued for Haibatullah Akhundzada, the leader of the Taliban, and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, the group’s chief court judge, on charges of crimes against humanity.
According to the court’s official statement, the second chamber of the pre-trial chamber issued the warrant on Tuesday, July 8, stressing that there is sufficient evidence of “their role in systematic crimes against women, girls and vulnerable groups.”
The charges include gender-based harassment, imprisonment and torture, enforced disappearances and systematic deprivation of fundamental rights and freedoms. The court’s findings show that the Taliban have violated women’s basic rights, including education, freedom of movement and freedom of expression, by implementing a discriminatory policy.
The statement said that those who opposed the Taliban’s gender views were targeted as “political enemies” even when this opposition was not directly expressed.
This is not the court’s first formal action to issue arrest warrants for senior Taliban leaders, but it is a major step in documenting and prosecuting the group’s crimes.
