ICC closes original Afghanistan war investigation, keeps Taliban case
Judges say prosecutors failed to show they could pursue the dormant US troops and ISIS-K lines, and the prosecutor's office says it has appealed.
Judges at the International Criminal Court have ordered the formal closure of the court's original investigation into alleged crimes in Afghanistan, a file that had included allegations against United States troops. The chamber also closed the original investigation's line of inquiry into alleged crimes by Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) since 2016.
The judges said the prosecution had not shown it could "effectively carry out any further investigative or prosecutorial activities" in the original Afghanistan investigation, according to a court document cited by Anadolu Agency. Citing legal certainty, transparency and the proper administration of judicial proceedings, they ordered the registrar to close the records of the Situation in Afghanistan.
The original investigation was authorised to cover alleged crimes in Afghanistan from May 1, 2003, and conflict-related crimes in other ICC member states from July 1, 2002. Anadolu reported that prosecutors had filed only a limited number of Article 58 applications, all relating to a separate case, Situation in Afghanistan II, covering alleged crimes since August 2021.
That second investigation continues. The prosecution told the chamber it was pursuing three lines: alleged crimes by the Taliban against women and girls since August 2021; alleged crimes against other people, including persecution on political, ethnic and religious grounds; and alleged crimes by ISIS-K since 2016. The judges said the closure of the original file would not affect the Afghanistan II investigation, and that prosecutors could seek fresh authorisation to investigate ISIS-K if they later became able to pursue it effectively.
Dawn reported that the decision closes the US troops line of inquiry, which had lain dormant since 2021. The prosecutor's office told Reuters on Friday that it had appealed the decision, Dawn reported.
Afghanistan joined the Rome Statute in 2003 under the Western-backed administration that took power after the 2001 US-led invasion. The Taliban returned to power in August 2021 after foreign forces withdrew and the Western-backed government collapsed.
How the reports differ
Anadolu Agency led with the court document and the chamber's finding that prosecutors could not carry out further investigative work, and stressed that a separate Taliban-era investigation continues. Dawn framed the ruling around the US troops line, noting that inquiry had been dormant since 2021, and alone reported that the prosecutor's office told Reuters it had appealed. Audacy and The Canadian Press headlined the same decision as limiting the ICC's Afghanistan investigation to Taliban crimes.
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