The International Criminal Court (ICC) has unsealed four arrest warrants in its Afghanistan investigation. In a release dated 5 October, the Court said Pre-Trial Chamber II had made public warrants issued on 8 July 2025 and 9 September 2025 against Haibatullah Akhundzada, Abdul Hakim Haqqani, Habibullah Agha and Neda Mohammad Nadim. The existence of the first two warrants was announced in July 2025, when the Court named Akhundzada as Supreme Leader of the Taliban and Haqqani as the Taliban's Chief Justice. The warrants against Agha and Nadim are newly public.
What the warrants say
The Chamber found "reasonable grounds to believe that the four suspects are criminally responsible for having ordered, induced or solicited the crime against humanity of persecution", on gender grounds against girls, women and others who do not conform with the Taliban's policy on gender, and on political grounds against people seen as "allies of girls and women". The Court says the crimes are believed to have been committed since the Taliban took power on 15 August 2021 and continued until at least 20 January 2025.
What the FCDO says
The FCDO advises against all travel to Afghanistan. Its advice states: "There is a significant risk the Taliban could detain British nationals." It warns that the Taliban are likely to suspect visitors of spying and may detain anyone found with weapons or explosives, tracking devices, large amounts of money or items considered unusual. It also says: "The risk of detention is especially high if you have worked in the military or have connections to previously detained British nationals." On consular support: "If you are detained, the British government may not be informed." There is no British Embassy in Afghanistan.
What it means for operators
The unsealing names two further Taliban suspects and puts the Court's case against the Taliban leadership back in the news. The ICC release does not say how the Taliban have responded, and none should be assumed. The FCDO's existing advice, covered here on 19 September, is the planning baseline: detention risk is especially high for anyone who has worked in the military or has connections to previously detained British nationals, and many close protection operators will fall into the first group. Anyone supporting humanitarian, media or business travel into Afghanistan should screen team members for military history, strip kit of anything the FCDO lists as likely to draw suspicion, including tracking devices and large sums of cash, and plan on the basis that no in-person consular help will be available.
