Afghan administration rejects ICC arrest warrants, says it does not recognize court

ISTANBUL

Afghanistan’s interim Taliban administration on Tuesday rejected the arrest warrants for its leader and justice chief issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), saying that it does not recognize the court.

The ICC on Tuesday issued warrants for Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani, accusing them of crimes against humanity and gender-based persecution in Afghanistan since the group’s return to power in 2021.

“Once again, an institution operating under the name of the ‘International Court’ has issued a declaration calling for the arrest and prosecution of certain leaders of the Islamic Emirate,” Zabihullah Mujahid, top spokesman of the interim administration, said on X.

He said such announcements and “baseless rhetoric” will not influence the “firm determination and legitimate stance” of the interim administration in any way.

“We do not recognize any entity under the title of the ‘International Court,’ nor do we acknowledge any obligation toward it,” he added.

He stressed that amid the ongoing genocide in Palestine by the “Israeli Zionist regime,” raising slogans about “human rights, justice, and the court is a matter of shame and disgrace.”

“Labeling the laws of Islamic Sharia as oppressive or against humanity, and threatening those who implement them with arrest and prosecution, is a clear expression of enmity and hatred toward the pure religion of Islam and its legal system,” he added.