The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague has unsealed arrest warrants for four senior Taliban figures, according to the court's website. The documents name supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani, Education Minister Habibullah Agha and Higher Education Minister Neda Mohammad Nadim.
Pre-Trial Chamber II lifted the secrecy on October 5, 2026, saying publication would not harm the investigation and could help prevent new crimes. The warrants for Akhundzada and Haqqani were issued on July 8, 2025, and the court announced their existence at the time. Now the documents themselves have been made public. The warrants for Agha and Nadim were issued on September 9, 2025, and remained sealed until Monday, France 24 notes.
The judges found reasonable grounds to believe that all four are responsible for ordering and inciting persecution on gender grounds, a crime against humanity. The victims were women and girls, people who do not conform to the Taliban's requirements for gender identity and expression, and those the movement considers allies of women. According to the court, the crimes have been committed continuously since the Taliban returned to power on August 15, 2021.
ICC representatives said the fate of Afghan women and girls is one of the gravest manifestations of gender persecution, and that the warrants recognize systemic discrimination, not only physical violence. The court links the persecution to severe restrictions on fundamental rights, as well as to killings, imprisonment, torture, rape and enforced disappearances.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the movement does not recognize the ICC and sees no acts by its leaders that warrant arrest. The chances of an actual arrest are slim: the court has no police force of its own, and member states must execute the warrants, AP notes. A warrant is not a finding of guilt. At this stage, the judges have only established reasonable grounds to believe the suspects committed the crimes.
