ICC Unseals Four Taliban Arrest Warrants Over Alleged Gender Persecution in Afghanistan

By Habari News
October 5, 2026

The International Criminal Court has unsealed four arrest warrants in its Afghanistan investigation, revealing allegations that Taliban policies targeting women, girls and people who do not conform to the movement’s gender rules amount to crimes against humanity.

The court’s Pre-Trial Chamber II announced the decision October 5. The warrants concern Haibatullah Akhundzada, Abdul Hakim Haqqani, Habibullah Agha and Neda Mohammad Nadim.

The warrants were issued on July 8 and September 9, 2025. The existence of those against Akhundzada and Haqqani had already been announced in July 2025. Monday’s decision unseals the warrants; it does not constitute a finding of guilt. International Criminal Court

Alleged Persecution on Gender and Political Grounds

According to the court’s announcement, judges found reasonable grounds to believe the four suspects were criminally responsible for ordering, inducing or soliciting the crime against humanity of persecution under Article 7(1)(h) of the Rome Statute.

The alleged gender-based persecution targeted girls, women and other people whose gender identity or expression did not conform to Taliban policy. Judges also identified alleged persecution on political grounds against people perceived as supporters of girls and women.

The alleged crimes cover a period beginning August 15, 2021, when the Taliban seized power, and continuing until at least January 20, 2025.

Restrictions on Education and Fundamental Freedoms

The chamber considered that the suspects, acting on behalf of the Taliban, implemented a governmental policy resulting in severe violations of the Afghan civilian population’s fundamental rights.

Although Taliban rules affected the broader population, judges said girls and women were specifically targeted because of their gender.

The court identified decrees and edicts severely restricting their rights to education, privacy and family life, along with freedoms of movement, expression, thought, conscience and religion.

Other people were allegedly targeted because expressions of sexuality or gender identity were considered inconsistent with Taliban policy.

The chamber linked the alleged persecution to conduct involving murder, imprisonment, torture, rape and enforced disappearance. The announcement describes persecution connected to that conduct, rather than separately listing each act as a charge against every suspect.

How the Chamber Interpreted Gender

In examining the allegations, judges concluded that the Rome Statute’s definition of gender requires consideration beyond biological sex.

The chamber said socially constructed roles, expectations, behaviours and hierarchies associated with sex form part of the context for assessing gender-based persecution.

Its analysis also addressed the forms such persecution can take. Judges found that it may involve direct violence as well as systemic and institutionalised harm, including discriminatory societal norms imposed through policy.

The chamber connected that interpretation to the provision’s purpose of protecting civilians from serious, systematic violations of fundamental rights, particularly those targeting vulnerable groups.

Supporters of Women and Girls Also Allegedly Targeted

The court said people perceived as opposing Taliban gender policies were also targeted as political opponents.

That category included people described as “allies of girls and women.” Judges found that perceived opposition could include passive conduct or a failure to act, rather than only overt resistance.

The finding places alleged retaliation against supporters alongside the restrictions imposed directly on women, girls and others affected by Taliban gender rules.

Arrest Warrants Are a Pre-Trial Step

The decision concerns the reasonable-grounds standard used at the arrest-warrant stage. It is not a conviction or a final determination that the four suspects committed the alleged crimes.

Unsealing the warrants makes the court’s allegations and reasoning publicly accessible as part of the Afghanistan proceedings.

Source: International Criminal Court announcement, October 5, 2026.