ICC unseals warrants for four Taliban leaders over alleged gender persecution
publishers 23articles 25first reported 5 Oct, 12:18 UTCdeveloping since 5 Oct · 8 editions
The International Criminal Court on Monday unsealed arrest warrants for four senior Taliban officials accused of crimes against humanity through gender- and politically based persecution in Afghanistan.
The suspects are Taliban supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada; Abdul Hakim Haqqani, head of Afghanistan’s Supreme Court; Education Minister Habibullah Agha; and Higher Education Minister Neda Mohammad Nadim. The warrants for Akhundzada and Haqqani were issued in July last year, while those for Agha and Nadim were issued in September last year. The existence of the first two had previously been revealed, but the warrants remained sealed; the court has now disclosed further details and made all four warrants public with redactions.
ICC judges found reasonable grounds to believe the officials ordered or solicited persecution of women, girls and people whose gender identity or expression did not conform with Taliban policy, as well as people perceived as allies of women and girls. The court said Taliban policies severely deprived women and girls of rights including education, movement, expression, privacy and family life. Judges linked the alleged persecution to acts including murder, imprisonment, torture, rape and enforced disappearance.
Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban have barred girls from education beyond primary school, excluded women from universities and restricted their employment, travel and access to public spaces.
Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid rejected the warrants, saying Afghanistan does not recognize the court and is bound by Islamic Sharia and its courts. The ICC has no police force and relies on member states to carry out arrests.
HOW THIS STORY WAS MADE
Written from 7 articles, 6 with the publisher's own text; 7 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 24 h after the record first saw the story; the editor revised it.
- Publishers
- 23
- Source articles
- 25
- Given to the writer
- 7, 6 with the article's own text
- Independent newsrooms
- 7
- This version written
- 24 h after the record first saw the story
- Second model (editor)
- revised
- Publication gate
- passed
- Human review
- none
WHAT THE EDITOR DID
The second model checked the writer's draft against the same sources and changed it before publication. Struck words were in the draft; underlined words are its corrections.
WHAT IT FLAGGED editor revise: The story needs the warrant timing and prior disclosure language corrected to match the sources. - "The warrants for Akhundzada and Haqqani were issued in July 2025, while those for Agha and Nadim were issued in September 2025.": Sources say warrants were issued in July and September last year, and the current source dates indicate 2026; using 2025 directly is unsupported and contradicts the 2026 framing. - "The existence of the first two had previously been announced, but the court has now disclosed further details and made all four warrants public with redactions.": Sources say the existence of the warrants against Akhundzada and Haqqani was revealed last year, but the warrants remained sealed; saying the first two were previously announced as warrants while also saying all four were now made public is imprecise and misleading.
THE DRAFT AND THE CHANGES
ICC unseals warrants for four Taliban leaders over alleged gender persecution
The International Criminal Court on Monday unsealed arrest warrants for four senior Taliban officials accused of crimes against humanity through gender- and politically based persecution in Afghanistan.
The suspects are Taliban supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada; Abdul Hakim Haqqani, head of Afghanistan’s Supreme Court; Education Minister Habibullah Agha; and Higher Education Minister Neda Mohammad Nadim. The warrants for Akhundzada and Haqqani were issued in July 2025,last year, while those for Agha and Nadim were issued in September 2025.last year. The existence of the first two had previously been announced,revealed, but the warrants remained sealed; the court has now disclosed further details and made all four warrants public with redactions.
ICC judges found reasonable grounds to believe the officials ordered or solicited persecution of women, girls and people whose gender identity or expression did not conform with Taliban policy, as well as people perceived as allies of women and girls. The court said Taliban policies severely deprived women and girls of rights including education, movement, expression, privacy and family life. Judges linked the alleged persecution to acts including murder, imprisonment, torture, rape and enforced disappearance.
Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban have barred girls from education beyond primary school, excluded women from universities and restricted their employment, travel and access to public spaces.
Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid rejected the warrants, saying Afghanistan does not recognize the court and is bound by Islamic Sharia and its courts. The ICC has no police force and relies on member states to carry out arrests.
Written by a language model from the sources above, then checked by a second model that may only cut, attribute or correct. How it works →