Afghan Taliban foreign ministry denounces arrest warrants for leaders

Hannah Bond
Afghanisatan’s Taliban foreign ministry said on January 24th that it “strongly condemns” and refuses to accept the International Criminal Court’s request for arrest warrants for two leaders of the Taliban, Reuters reported.
The ministry said in a statement that the warrants, which alleged that the two leaders have persecuted women and girls, were “devoid of a fair legal foundation, characterised by double standards, and politically motivated.”
According to Anadolu Agency, Kabul regarded the allegations about the two leaders as “baseless.”
The prosecutor’s office said that it may be reasonable to believe that Akhundzada and Haqqani “bear criminal responsibility for the crime against humanity of persecution on gender grounds, under article 7(1)(h) of the Rome Statute,” concluding that the Taliban leaders “criminally responsible for persecuting Afghan girls and women.”
On January 23rd, the ICC prosecutor said he was seeking warrants for the Tailban supreme spiritual leader Haibatullah Akhundzada as well as Abdul Hakim Haqqani, who since 2021, has been the country’s chief justice.
The issue of persecution has been present in the country since at least August 15th 2021, which is the day Taliban forces captured Kabul following a 20-year insurgency against the western-supported government, according to the prosecutor.
The Taliban regained power amid forces from other countries withdrawing and have taken strong actions against the access of women to public spaces, work and education, such as closing high schools and universities to female students.
The Taliban-led foreign ministry also said in a statement: “It is regrettable that during the two decades of occupation in Afghanistan, this institution (ICC) turned a blind eye to the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by foreign forces and their domestic allies.”
Amnesty International said on January 24th that the ICC’s prosecutor announcement was “an important development.”
Amnesty Secretary General Agnès Callamard said: “This is a crucial step to hold accountable all those allegedly responsible for the gender-based deprivation of fundamental rights.”
Callamard also said that Amnesty International is urging the ICC prosecutor to review a 2021 decision to not prioritise investigations into allegations of war crimes by foreign forces, during their two-decade operation in Afghanistan.
Callamard added: “This decision risks contributing to perceptions of a selective approach to international justice which prioritises the interests of powerful states and their allies over the right to justice of victims of crimes under international law.”
Reuters, Anadolu Agency