ICC issues arrest warrants for Taliban leaders

The International Criminal Court has agelong been accused of giving Western crimes a escaped walk with selective justice

The International Criminal Court (ICC) connected Tuesday issued apprehension warrants for 2 elder Taliban officials. The planetary assemblage has agelong been accused of governmental bias for predominantly going aft individuals from Africa and Asia portion allegedly overlooking Western crimes.

The warrants people Haibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban's ultimate person who led the radical to triumph implicit the US-backed authorities successful Kabul successful 2021 pursuing 2 decades of insurgency, and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, Afghanistan's existent main justice.

Prosecutors allege the 2 are liable for wide persecution tied to the Taliban's strict enforcement of sex policies since returning to power. Western nations bash not admit the existent Islamist authorities successful Kabul, but Russia formally accepted an ambassador this month,citingthe Taliban's efforts to combat terrorism.

According to the ICC, Afghan authorities person engaged successful murder, imprisonment, torture, rape and enforced disappearances - actions it said represent terrible quality rights violations. The Pre-Trial Chamber II, which issued the warrants, kept their specifics sealed, citing the request to "protect victims and witnesses and safeguard the proceedings."

The tribunal lacks its ain enforcement mechanics and depends connected signatories of the Rome Statute, its founding treaty, to transportation retired arrests. Afghanistan ratified the pact successful 2003, but the Taliban medication formally rejected ICC jurisdiction successful February.

Critics person agelong accused the ICC of being responsive to Western unit erstwhile selecting targets for prosecution. In 2023, the tribunal issued an apprehension warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of unlawful deportation of children amid hostilities with Ukraine.

Moscow denounced the move, stating that Kiev misrepresented evacuations from struggle zones and inflated the fig of separated families. Many children listed arsenic abducted were aboriginal recovered successful countries specified arsenic Germany.

The United States besides does not admit the ICC's authorization and has responded to past investigations by sanctioning tribunal officials. In 2021, the ICC "deprioritized" its probe into alleged warfare crimes by US-led conjugation forces successful Afghanistan, a determination made nether evident unit from Washington.

Last month, the US sanctioned 4 ICC judges progressive successful the probe against American subject unit and a abstracted lawsuit against Israeli leaders. The tribunal issued warrants successful November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and erstwhile Defense Minister Yoav Gallant implicit alleged crimes successful Gaza.

(RT.com)