The Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and the head of Afghanistan’s Supreme Court, Abdul Hakim Haqqani.
Russia has become the first country in the world to officially recognize the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. In Moscow, the flag of the Taliban regime, recognized as a terrorist organization by many countries, was raised over the Afghan embassy building.
The Court found reasonable grounds to believe that both individuals are responsible for crimes against humanity on gender- and politically based grounds, including the persecution of girls, women, and anyone who did not conform to Taliban policies on gender, identity, or expression.
According to the ICC, the Taliban’s crimes have continued from 15 August 2021, when they seized power, through at least January 2025.
The report outlines killings, torture, rape, enforced disappearances, and systematic deprivation of women’s rights, including rights to education, freedom of movement, privacy, and freedom of speech.
On 17 March 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. He is suspected of committing a war crime, namely, the unlawful deportation and forced transfer of children from the occupied territories of Ukraine to Russia.
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This international legal document restricts his international travel due to the risk of arrest in countries that recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction.