Taliban Withdraws from the International Criminal Court
Afghanistan’s hardline Taliban leaders on Thursday rejected the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC), calling their predecessors’ 2003 decision to join the court’s founding treaty in The Hague “illegal.”
The move follows last month’s announcement by the ICC’s chief prosecutor, who requested arrest warrants for Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and a close associate, accusing them of “criminal responsibility for the persecution of Afghan women and girls.”
The Taliban regained power militarily in August 2021, ousting the internationally recognized government in Kabul as U.S.-led NATO forces withdrew after nearly two decades in Afghanistan.
Now ruling under the banner of the “Islamic Emirate,” the Taliban enforces its strict interpretation of Sharia law, imposing extensive restrictions on freedom of expression, women’s education, and their participation in public life, according to a Voice of America report on Thursday.
