The International Criminal Court on Monday unsealed arrest warrants for four senior Taliban leaders over the alleged persecution of women and girls in Afghanistan. The court called it a crime against humanity.

The warrants name Taliban supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, chief justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani, education minister Habibullah Agha and higher education minister Neda Mohammad Nadim. They were issued on July 8 and September 9, 2025, and kept sealed until now.

Judges found reasonable grounds to believe the four ordered or encouraged persecution on gender grounds under Article 7 of the Rome Statute, the court’s founding treaty. The alleged crimes run from August 15, 2021, when the Taliban took power, to at least January 20, 2025.

The court said Taliban policies severely deprived women and girls of education, movement, expression and family life. People seen as allies of women were also targeted, judges said.

The warrants are allegations, not convictions. The suspects are presumed innocent. The Taliban administration does not recognise the ICC, so arrests remain unlikely without international cooperation.