ICC issues arrest warrants for Taliban leaders over gender-based persecution

On 8 July 2025, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Taliban Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani. The court said there were reasonable grounds to believe they bore responsibility for the crime against humanity of persecution on gender grounds.

The ICC said the alleged persecution affected girls, women and people who did not conform with Taliban policies on gender, gender identity or expression, as well as people perceived as allies of girls and women. The two men remained at large when the court published the warrants.

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