The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor says he is seeking arrest warrants for senior Taliban leaders in Afghanistan over the persecution of women, a crime against humanity.
Karim Khan says there are reasonable grounds to suspect that Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and chief justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani “bear criminal responsibility for the crime against humanity of persecution on gender grounds.”
Khan says that Afghan women and girls, as well as the LGBTQ community, are facing “an unprecedented, unconscionable and ongoing persecution by the Taliban.
“Our action signals that the status quo for women and girls in Afghanistan is not acceptable,” adds Khan.
ICC judges will now consider Khan’s application before deciding whether to issue an arrest warrant — a process that could take weeks or even months.
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