The Taliban rejected the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to arrest top officials in the Afghanistan-based terror group, claiming the ICC’s accusations were baseless and “misbehavior.”
“This misbehavior further destroys the weak credibility of the said structure (ICC) and makes its status and position at the international level completely meaningless,” the Taliban’s Foreign Ministry statement claimed, condemning the ICC’s inattention at the alleged war crimes committed by the country’s previous administration.
“Like many other decisions of the (ICC), it is devoid of a fair legal basis, is a matter of double standards, and is politically motivated,” said a statement from the Foreign Ministry posted on X/Twitter. “It is regrettable that this institution has turned a blind eye to war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by foreign forces and their domestic allies during the twenty-year occupation of Afghanistan…”
The Taliban further claimed the ICC should “not attempt to impose a particular interpretation of human rights on the entire world and ignore the religious and national values of people of the rest of the world.”
The Taliban’s deputy interior minister Mohammad Nabi Omari, according to AFP, also told crowds that the ICC “can’t scare us” – adding that more efforts should be dedicated toward prosecuting Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the war in Gaza.
The statement was released after ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan said on Thursday he had requested warrants against two top Taliban officials, namely Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and Taliban Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani.
#ICC Prosecutor @KarimKhanQC announces applications for warrants of arrest in the situation in #Afghanistan for the Supreme Leader of the Taliban, Haibatullah Akhundzada, and the Chief Justice of the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan”, Abdul Hakim Haqqani.https://t.co/zpCmoBEQvb pic.twitter.com/9FHF0bVqAJ
— Int’l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) January 23, 2025
The charges are being pursued under the crime against humanity of persecution on gender grounds, under article 7(1)(h) of the Rome Statute, the ICC shared in a release.
“This ongoing persecution entails numerous severe deprivations of victims’ fundamental rights, contrary to international law, including the right to physical integrity and autonomy, to free movement and free expression, to education, to private and family life, and to free assembly,” Khan wrote.
“Perceived resistance or opposition to the Taliban was, and is, brutally repressed through the commission of crimes including murder, imprisonment, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, enforced disappearance, and other inhumane acts,” he added.
While the move was celebrated by many women’s rights groups, including The Afghan Women’s Movement for Justice and Awareness and the Malala Fund, some members of Afghanistan’s previous governments warned that Khan’s move may encourage the terror group.
The decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) sends a significant political message and has the potential to increase political pressure on the Taliban. However, from a technical and practical perspective, implementing this decision appears to be highly challenging.…
— Mohammad Halim Fidai (@Mhalimfidai) January 23, 2025
“They may tell their followers that their beliefs are so powerful they have provoked the collective opposition of global powers,” Mohammad Halim Fidai, a governor of four provinces before the Taliban takeover, wrote on X/Twitter. “This decision could inadvertently serve as a badge of honor or credibility for them.”
Zalmai Nishat, founder of the UK-based charity Mosaic Afghanistan, told Reuters if the ICC warrants were issued it may have little impact on Akhundzada, who rarely travels outside Afghanistan.
The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) announcement today that it will apply for arrest warrants against senior Taliban leaders marks a pivotal moment in the pursuit of justice for Afghan women and girls.Under the Rome Statute, persecution on the grounds of gender is… pic.twitter.com/3CPZCazkXo
— Malala Fund (@MalalaFund) January 23, 2025
“But in terms of [the] international reputation of the Taliban, this basically means a complete erosion of their international legitimacy, if they had any,” he said.
The life of women in Afghanistan
Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021, the Islamist terror group has rolled back the rights of women – citing Islamic law as their justification.
The terror group banned Afghan women from employment and, according to Le Monde, has demanded that all foreign NGOs must now abide by the 2022 ruling, too. Any NGO employing women will have its license revoked.
Since March 2022, girls have been barred from receiving primary education, and women training to be in the medical field, including as midwives, were expelled from academic institutions in December 2024.
Gyms and fitness centers for women, along with salons, have been closed across the country.
It was also previously reported that the Taliban was canceling the divorces of victims of child marriage – forcing them to return to their ex-husbands.
“It has been 1,225 days – soon to be four years – since authorities imposed a ban that prevents girls above the age of 12 from attending school,” said the head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, Roza Otunbayeva. “It is a travesty and tragedy that millions of Afghan girls have been stripped of their right to education.”