The International Criminal Court has unsealed four arrest warrants for members of the Taliban leadership in the case concerning the situation in Afghanistan.
This was reported by the ICC press office.
The warrants concern the Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, the Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani, the Minister of Education Habibullah Agha, and the Minister of Higher Education Neda Mohammad Nadim.
The court issued the first two warrants on 8 July 2025, and the other two were issued on 9 September of the same year. They remained under seal until 5 October 2026.
The ICC chamber concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe the four suspects are responsible for ordering, inciting or otherwise inducing a crime against humanity in the form of persecution.
According to the court, the persecution was directed at girls, women and other people who did not conform to the Taliban’s policy on gender, gender identity or self-expression. People considered allies of women and girls were also persecuted.
The alleged crimes were committed in Afghanistan from the Taliban’s seizure of power on 15 August 2021 until at least 20 January 2025.
The ICC notes that Taliban policy has led to a significant curtailment of the rights of women and girls, including the right to education, private and family life, freedom of movement, and freedom of expression, thought, conscience and religion.
- Since taking control of Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban has restricted women’s role in various areas of public life. Women were banned from attending school beyond the sixth grade and employment opportunities were severely limited.
- In May, the Taliban approved the recognition of child marriages in Afghanistan. The “silence” of a virgin woman after reaching sexual maturity may be regarded as consent to marriage. At the same time, a similar rule does not apply to young men or to women who have already been married.
- In June, the UN said the Taliban had arrested 30 women for violating hijab-wearing rules.