ICC seeks arrest of two Taliban leaders accused of persecution of women

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant for Taliban leaders Hibatullah Akhundzada, Afghanistan’s Supreme Leader, and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, the president of the country’s Supreme Court, over their role in the Taliban’s “persecution of Afghan girls and women” by depriving them of their rights to “education, private and family life, as well as their freedom of movement, expression, thought, conscience and religion.” The Taliban responded to the accusations by saying they do not recognize the ICC’s legitimacy.