Middle East Eye has reported exclusively that judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague issued secret arrest warrants last year for two additional senior Taliban members, alongside the group’s supreme leader and chief justice, over allegations of gender-based and political persecution.
Citing confidential documents and informed sources, the outlet reported that a panel of three ICC judges issued the two warrants in September 2025. However, the identities of the two senior Taliban figures have not been disclosed because the cases remain confidential.
In its report, Middle East Eye named several Taliban officials including Khalid Hanafi, Minister for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice; Nida Mohammad Nadim, Minister of Higher Education; Abdul Hakim Shari, Minister of Justice; and Mawlawi Noor Mohammad Saqib, Minister of Hajj and Religious Affairs as figures who have played roles in policies restricting women’s rights. The outlet did not specify which of these individuals, if any, are the subjects of the secret warrants.
The warrants were reportedly issued about two months after the same panel of judges publicly announced arrest warrants for Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s supreme leader, and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, the group’s chief justice. The ICC has accused the two Taliban officials of crimes against humanity in the form of gender-based persecution.
According to Middle East Eye, the newly issued confidential warrants are based on additional evidence and testimony from victims that were not included in the public cases against Akhundzada and Haqqani. Further details about the evidence and the identities of the suspects have not yet been made public.
The ICC prosecutor has accused the Taliban of committing these crimes from the group’s return to power on August 15, 2021, through at least January 20, 2025. The case concerns policies and actions that prosecutors consider to constitute gender-based and political persecution.
Middle East Eye also claimed that the case has a relatively unprecedented dimension under international law, saying that, for the first time, LGBTQ victims have been recognized in a case before the ICC or another international tribunal.
Gender-based persecution is also among the charges that have been rarely brought before international courts. According to the outlet, no individual has yet been convicted by the ICC specifically on this charge.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
