ICC unseals warrants against Taliban supremo, top aides

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday unsealed arrest warrants for four senior Afghan Taliban officials accused of crimes against humanity through policies targeting women and girls, detailing allegations of gender-based persecution and severe violations of fundamental rights and freedoms. The ICC had authorised warrants in July 2025 against Taliban Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and Supreme Court President Abdul Hakim Haqqani. The warrants against Education Minister Habibullah Agha and Higher Education Minister Neda Mohammad Nadeem were issued in September 2025. The court said on Monday that Akhundzada and Haqqani had implemented a governmental policy resulting in severe violations of the fundamental rights and freedoms of Afghanistan's civilian population, involving alleged murder, imprisonment, torture, rape and enforced disappearance. The judges further said the two ministers were accused of implementing policies that barred girls from attending school beyond primary level and excluded women from higher education following the Taliban's return to power in August 2021. Both Agha and Nadeem were instrumental in implementing the supreme leader's vision for Afghanistan, according to the court. The warrants against the education ministers are also linked to the Taliban's restrictions on women and girls' access to education. The court said there were "reasonable grounds to believe" that the suspects had committed "the crime against humanity of persecution on gender grounds", targeting "women and girls, and other persons whose gender expression or identity was viewed as inconsistent with the Taliban's policy on gender". The ICC said women and girls had been specifically targeted by restrictions on their rights to education, freedom of expression and freedom of movement, although the Taliban had imposed strict rules and prohibitions on the wider Afghan population. The ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber II said it had decided to unseal all four warrants, with redactions, after concluding that publication would not unduly affect ongoing investigations. It said making the warrants public could also "promote cooperation by the international community, including State Parties, in relation to the situation in Afghanistan". The warrants are likely to increase international pressure on the Taliban government in Afghanistan, where the higher education ban has also contributed to staff shortages in hospitals, as women are no longer able to qualify as doctors. Afghan women and girls have faced sweeping restrictions on education and public life since the Taliban returned to power. Girls have been barred from secondary education while women have been excluded from universities, leaving Afghan universities as male-only institutions. Afghans across the country have told AFP journalists about severe mental health problems linked to the education ban, with teenage girls and women largely confined to their homes. Some women and girls have sought to continue their education online, but internet and electricity problems have hampered their efforts. Women are also increasingly absent from public life and must follow strict dress requirements when leaving home. They are banned from most jobs and a range of public places, including parks, and must be accompanied by a close male relative on long journeys. According to UN figures cited in the reports, half of Afghan women now leave their homes only once or twice a month, reflecting restrictions on their freedom of movement and participation in public life. Afghanistan remains the only country where girls are banned from secondary education and women are prohibited from attending university, according to UN Women. The ICC's move comes amid continuing international concern over the Taliban's treatment of women and girls and provides fuller details of allegations that had previously been disclosed only in broad terms when the court confirmed the existence of the warrants last year.