Karim Khan claims he has “reasonable grounds” to hold the Taliban leader and the president of the Supreme Court of Afghanistan “criminally responsible” for a crime against humanity over the persecution of girls and women.
The public prosecutor of International Criminal Court (CPI), Karim Khan, asked the jury for approval on Thursday two arrest warrants: one against the Taliban’s Supreme Leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, and the other against the President of the Supreme Court of Afghanistan, Abdul Hakim Haqqani. He has accused both gender-based persecution.
The prosecutor claims to have “reasonable grounds“to consider both ‘criminally responsible’ for a crime against humanity throughout the territory of Afghanistan since August 15, 2021 for the persecution of Afghan girls and women, and for people who were considered by the Taliban to be ‘not in accordance with their ideological expectations of gender identity’ or expression’, or ‘as allies of girls and women’.
In Khan’s words: “This continued persecution entails numerous and serious deprivations of the victims’ fundamental rights in violation of international law, including the right to physical integrity and autonomy, freedom of movement and expression, education , private and family life and freedom of assembly”.
Similarly, he has detailed that resistance against the Taliban has been “brutally suppressed through the commission of crimes such as murder, imprisonment, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, enforced disappearances and other inhumane acts.”
Under the proof that his team has collected, there is audiovisual material, official decrees, forensic reports, as well as testimony from experts and witnesses, and statements from the suspects themselves and other representatives of the Taliban.
These are the first requested arrest warrants by the prosecutor as part of his investigation into serious crimes in Afghanistan, although he assures that “he will soon submit more applications for other senior Taliban officials.”
Khan stated that “these requests recognize that Afghan women and girls, as well as the LGBTQI+ community, face unprecedented, unacceptable and ongoing persecution at the hands of the Taliban. Our action indicates that the status quo for women and girls in Afghanistan is not acceptable.” She concluded that “they deserve to be held accountable in a court of law.”
In 2020, the ICC Prosecutor’s Office received unanimous permission from judges to investigate alleged crimes committed on the territory of Afghanistan since May 1, 2003, as well as crimes related to the armed conflict and the situation in Afghanistan.
The previous Afghan government disputed the admissibility of the investigation, but on October 31, 2022, following the Taliban’s takeover, the prosecutor took up the case and “conducted an independent, impartial and robust investigation” into the crimes that occurred there.
Khan will focus his efforts on investigating crimes allegedly committed by the Taliban and the Islamic State group (IS-Khorasan), leaving other aspects in the background, such as alleged crimes committed by US soldiers.
Source: EITB
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
