The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has told Sky News he is seeking the arrest of two senior Taliban figures over the ”systemic and deliberate” persecution of women in Afghanistan.
Karim Khan KC, speaking on Sky News’ The World with Yalda Hakim, said the pair bore “criminal responsibility” over the treatment of women and girls in the country.
It comes after the ICC announced earlier on Thursday it had filed two applications for warrants for the arrest of Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and Afghanistan‘s chief justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani.
Mr Khan said: “The charges are gender persecution. It’s the systemic, we say, organised, deliberate, malicious suffocation of women, the targeting of girls and women, the denial of their rights to education, access to any public spaces, the inability to go to beauty salons, the inability to walk in the park, the inability really to have hope.
“And this isn’t something doctrinal. This has crossed every threshold and we say clearly is criminal. And that’s what we presented to the judges of the International Criminal Court to consider.”
The prosecutor said the evidence was “overwhelming” and that the charges amounted to the “crime against humanity of gender persecution”.
Human rights groups have heavily criticised Taliban leaders since they took back control of Afghanistan in 2021.
Under their leadership, women have faced a string of restrictions over their daily lives, including over work, education and freedom of movement.
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Mr Khan added: “This isn’t some acceptable choice from a menu of options that states can choose from. This isn’t about religious autonomy of doctrinal beliefs of Christianity or Islam or Buddhism or anything else for that matter.
“This has crossed every threshold in which women can either be seen or heard. Women can’t go to university. Girls don’t have an opportunity to go to school”.
There is no deadline for judges to rule on a request for a warrant, but a decision typically takes around four months.