The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for two Taliban leaders

On Tuesday, 8 July, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for two leaders of the radical Taliban group that seized power in Afghanistan in 2021. This was reported by the ICC press service.

We are talking about Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdullah Hakim Haqqani.

The court concluded that they committed a crime against humanity – gender-based persecution against girls, women and others who do not conform to the Taliban's policy on gender equality, gender identity or expression; and for political reasons against individuals perceived as ‘allies of girls and women’.

These crimes are believed to have been committed in Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power on 15 August 2021 and continued until at least 20 January 2025.

The ICC believes that the group has implemented government policies that have led to serious violations of the fundamental rights and freedoms of Afghan civilians in connection with killings, imprisonment, torture, rape and enforced disappearances.

While the Taliban imposed certain rules and prohibitions on the general population, it specifically targeted girls and women because of their gender, depriving them of their basic rights and freedoms.

In particular, the Taliban severely denied girls and women the right to education, private and family life, as well as freedom of movement, expression, opinion, conscience and religion through decrees and decrees.

• In 2023, the Afghan Ministry of Higher Education, which is run by the Taliban, ordered / commanded / imposed private universities in the country should not allow female students to take entrance exams.
• On August 23, 2024, it was reported that Taliban leader has approved new laws prohibiting women from speaking and showing their faces in public places.