The Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has requested arrest warrants for two senior Taliban leaders in Afghanistan, including the supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada. They are accused of committing crimes against humanity due to widespread discrimination against women and girls.
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02-13, 2025A statement from Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan's office said that evidence gathered during the investigation provided reasonable grounds to suspect that Haibatullah Akhundzada and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, who has served as chief justice since 2021, "bear criminal responsibility for the crime against humanity of persecution based on gender." The statement noted that they "bear criminal responsibility for the persecution of Afghan girls and women, as well as those whom the Taliban perceive as not conforming to their gender identity or expression ideology, and those whom the Taliban perceive as allies of girls and women."
Karim Khan stated that Afghan women and girls, as well as the LGBTQIA+ community, are facing "unprecedented, unjustified, and ongoing persecution" by the Taliban. The prosecutor pointed out that this persecution has been ongoing since at least August 15, 2021, and continues to this day throughout Afghanistan. "Our actions demonstrate that the status quo for Afghan women and girls is unacceptable," he added.
Taliban leaders have not yet commented on the prosecutor's statement. After regaining power in 2021, the Taliban authorities promised to implement a more moderate rule than during their first period in power from 1996-2001. However, they quickly imposed restrictions on women and girls, which the United Nations has described as "gender apartheid."
Decrees issued by Akhundzada based on his interpretation of Sharia law have squeezed women and girls out of public life. Akhundzada rules by decree from the movement's birthplace in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan. The Afghan investigation is one of the longest-running investigations by the ICC prosecutor and has been plagued by legal and practical delays. A preliminary examination began in 2007, and a full investigation was not launched until 2022.
ICC judges will now review Karim Khan's application before deciding whether to issue arrest warrants, a process that could take weeks or even months.
