Page 12 - AHATA

A6 WORLD NEWS
Wednesday 9 July 2025
ICC issues arrest warrants for Taliban leaders over persecution of

women and girls

By MIKE CORDER arrest of other leaders in-
Associated Press cluding Russian President
THE HAGUE, Netherlands Vladimir Putin and Israeli
(AP) — The International Prime Minister Benjamin Ne-
Criminal Court issued arrest tanyahu.
warrants Tuesday for the Since returning to power in
Taliban’s supreme leader Afghanistan in 2021, the Tal-
and the head of Afghani- iban have imposed harsh
stan’s Supreme Court on measures, banning women
charges of persecuting from public places and girls
women and girls since seiz- from attending school be-
ing power nearly four years yond the sixth grade. Last
ago.The warrants also ac- week, Russia became the
cuse the leaders of per- first country to formally rec-
secuting “other persons ognize the Taliban’s gov-
nonconforming with the ernment.
Taliban’s policy on gen- The court said in a state-
der, gender identity or ex- ment that the Taliban
pression; and on political have “severely deprived,
grounds against persons through decrees and
perceived as ‘allies of girls edicts, girls and women
and women.’” A general view of the exterior of the International Criminal Court at The Hague, Netherlands, of the rights to education,
The warrants were issued March 12, 2025. privacy and family life and
against Taliban supreme Associated Press the freedoms of move-
leader Hibatullah Akhun- nizes the rights and lived ex- chief spokesman for the Tal- tions adopted a resolution ment, expression, thought,
zada and the head of the periences of persons whom iban government, rejected Monday over U.S. objec- conscience and religion.”
Supreme Court, Abdul Ha- the Taliban perceived as the court’s authority. tions that called on the Tal- The court’s chief prosecu-
kim Haqqani. not conforming with their He said in a statement that iban to reverse their wors- tor, Karim Khan, sought the
The court’s prosecution of- ideological expectations the court’s decision re- ening oppression of wom- warrants in January, saying
fice called the decision of gender identity or ex- flected “open hostility and en and girls and eliminate that they recognized that
to issue warrants “an im- pression, such as members hatred toward the holy re- all terrorist organizations. “Afghan women and girls
portant vindication and of the LGBTQI+ community, ligion of Islam and Shariah They are the latest high- as well as the LGBTQI+ com-
acknowledgment of the and persons whom the Tal- law,” and is “an insult to the profile suspects named in munity are facing an un-
rights of Afghan women iban perceived as allies of beliefs of all Muslims.” arrest warrants issued by precedented, unconscio-
and girls.” It added that the girls and women.” The warrants came just The Hague-based court nable and ongoing perse-
judges’ ruling “also recog- Zabihullah Mujahid, the hours after the United Na- that also has sought the cution by the Taliban.”q

At least 13 may have killed themselves over U.K.’s Post Office

wrongful convictions scandal

By SYLVIA HUI employees were wrongly the scandal, one of the Office accounting system agers of dishonesty and
Associated Press prosecuted or convicted biggest miscarriages of jus- “showing an illusory short- obliged them to repay the
LONDON (AP) — At least of criminal wrongdoing tice in U.K. history. fall in branch accounts,” money.
13 people were thought because of a faulty com- From around 1999 to 2015, according to their families. In all, the report said that
to have taken their own puter system, a report said hundreds of people who The problems at the Post about 1,000 people were
lives as a result of Britain’s Tuesday. worked at Post Office Office, which is state- prosecuted and convict-
Post Office scandal, in Another 59 people con- branches were wrongly owned but operates as ed based on evidence
which almost 1,000 postal templated suicide over convicted of theft, fraud a private business, were from the incorrect data.
and false accounting known for years. But the full The government has since
based on evidence from scale of the injustice didn’t introduced legislation to
a defective information become widely known reverse the convictions
technology system. Some until last year, when a TV and compensate the vic-
went to prison or were docudrama propelled the tims.
forced into bankruptcy. scandal to national head- Williams said that some
Others lost their homes, lines and galvanized sup- senior Post Office employ-
suffered health problems port for victims. ees knew or should have
or breakdowns in their re- The culprit was a piece of known that the Horizon
lationships or became os- software called Horizon, system was faulty. But “the
tracized by their commu- made by the Japanese Post Office maintained the
nities. firm Fujitsu, which the Post fiction that its data was al-
Retired judge Wyn Wil- Office introduced 25 years ways accurate,” he said.
liams, who chairs a public ago across branches to Jo Hamilton, a former Post
inquiry into the scandal, automate sales account- Office manager and a
said in a report published ing. When the software lead campaigner, said
A logo of a post office is displayed in London, Wednesday, Tuesday that 13 people showed false account that the report “shows the
Jan. 10, 2024. killed themselves as a con- shortfalls, the Post Office full scale of the horror that
Associated Press
sequence of a faulty Post accused branch man- they unleashed on us.”q