By Stephanie van den Berg
IHAGUE (Reuters) – The International Court of Justice prosecutor on Thursday said he has filed a request to arrest Taliban leaders in Afghanistan, including top spiritual leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, accusing them of crimes against humanity by discriminating against women and girls.
A statement issued by the office of the chief prosecutor Karim Khan said that the evidence collected as part of the investigation gives concrete reasons to believe that Akhundzada, and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, who has served as the chief judge since 2021, “are responsible for crimes against humanity. sexual persecution.”
“They are criminally responsible for the persecution of Afghan girls and women, and people whom the Taliban perceive as not conforming to their expectations of gender views or speech, and people who the Taliban perceive as friends of girls and women,” the report said. .
The persecution took place from August 15, 2021 until today, in all parts of Afghanistan and continues, the prosecutor said.
The investigation into Afghanistan is the longest by ICC prosecutors and is plagued by legal and operational delays. The first preliminary examination began in 2007 and only in 2022 did the full investigation proceed.
Since Afghanistan's Islamist Taliban returned to power in 2021 it has suppressed women's rights, including limits on education, work and general independence in everyday life.