The International Criminal Court (ICC) has officially issued arrest warrants for the Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, and the chief justice of the so-called “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” Abdul Hakim Haqqani. The announcement was made in a press release published on July 8.
According to the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber, both men are suspected of committing crimes against humanity, including systematic persecution of women and girls based on gender, and repression of individuals who sought to support them.
“While the Taliban imposed certain rules and restrictions on the general population, it specifically targeted women and girls based on their gender, depriving them of fundamental rights and freedoms,” the court’s statement said. “Through a series of decrees, the Taliban severely curtailed women’s and girls’ rights to education, private and family life, and freedom of movement, expression, thought, conscience, and religion. Others were also persecuted based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity deemed incompatible with the Taliban’s gender policies.”
The ICC notes that these gender-based crimes have been committed since August 15, 2021—the day the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan—and continued at least through January 20, 2025.
The list of alleged offenses includes killings, unlawful imprisonment, torture, rape, abduction, and decrees specifically targeting women and girls.
The Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in August 2021 following the withdrawal of U.S.-led international coalition forces, reestablishing a regime that has faced widespread international condemnation for its treatment of women and human rights violations.
