Prosecutor Karim Khan says there are reasonable grounds to believe crimes against humanity are being committed against women and girls in Afghanistan.The top prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has applied for arrest warrants for two Taliban leaders in Afghanistan including supreme spiritual leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, accusing them of the persecution of women and girls.
A statement issued by the office of ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan on Thursday said investigators found reasonable grounds to believe that Akhundzada and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, who has served as chief justice since 2021, “bear criminal responsibility for the crime against humanity of persecution on gender grounds”.
They are “criminally responsible for persecuting Afghan girls and women … and persons whom the Taliban perceived as allies of girls and women”, the statement said.
There was no immediate comment by Taliban leaders on the prosecutor’s statement.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, it has clamped down on women’s rights, including limits to schooling, work and general independence in daily life.
A three-judge panel at the ICC will now be expected to rule on the prosecution request, which has no set deadline. Such procedures take an average of three months. Advertisement
This is the first time ICC prosecutors have publicly sought warrants in their investigation into potential war crimes in Afghanistan, which dates back to 2007 and once included alleged crimes by the US military there.
Khan said that his office was demonstrating its commitment to pursuing accountability fo …
