Arrest warrants against Taliban leaders: Afghanistan's women's policy to go on trial in The Hague

taz/rtr The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague accuses the leadership of Afghanistan's militant Islamist Taliban government of persecuting the civilian population for gender-specific reasons and of other crimes under international law. This emerges from details published on Monday about arrest warrants issued against four Taliban leaders last year.

On July 8, 2025, the responsible pre-trial chamber issued an arrest warrant against Afghanistan's Taliban head of state Haibatullah Akhundzada and Afghanistan's Supreme Judge Abdul Hakim Haqqani. On September 9, 2025, further arrest warrants were issued against Education Minister Habibullah Agha and Higher Education Minister Neda Mohammad Nadim.

These four arrest warrants will now be made public. The judges explained that the existence of the first two arrest warrants was already known and that full disclosure would be suitable for preventing further crimes, informing the public and victims and promoting international cooperation with the court.

The Taliban leaders are accused of having implemented government policies in Afghanistan since 2021 that have led to serious violations of the basic rights of the civilian population. While the Taliban have imposed strict rules for the entire population, they have specifically targeted women and girls by denying them the right to education, freedom of expression and freedom of movement.

The Taliban rejected the allegations. ‌The spokesman for the Taliban government, Zabihullah Mujahid, said on Monday on “Fortunately, the leaders of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan have not committed any act that exposes them to arrest or punishment by any court,” Zabihullah added.