ICC issues arrest warrants for Taliban leaders over persecution of women and girls

PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — A girl sits in front of a bakery in the crowd with Afghan women waiting to receive bread in Kabul, Afghanistan, January 31, 2022. REUTERS/Ali Khara

THE HAGUE  -  The International Criminal Court on Tuesday issued arrest warrants for two Taliban leaders in Afghanistan including supreme spiritual leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, accusing them of the persecution of women and girls.

The ICC said there are reasonable grounds to believe that Akhundzada and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, Chief Justice of the Taliban, have committed the crime against humanity of persecution on gender grounds against girls, women and other persons non-conforming with the Taliban's policy on gender, gender identity or expression.

 (Reporting by Stephanie Van Den Berg, writing by GV De Clercq; editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten // REUTERS)