Who are the Taliban indicted by the People’s Tribunal for Afghanistan?

On October 8 and 10, 2025, the People’s Tribunal for Women of Afghanistan, part of the Permanent People’s Tribunal (PPT)an international tribunal with jurisdiction to rule on any serious crime committed against peoples and communities held public hearings in Madrid. The Tribunal is an initiative to expand existing opportunities to hold the Taliban accountable for their crimes and demand justice, to raise the alarm about the Taliban’s normalization of oppression of women and to give women and girls the opportunity to be heard around the world.

The hearings provided a platform for Afghan women who courageously narrated their experiences and explained the impact of the Taliban-imposed restrictions on their lives. They discussed, among other things, the limitations imposed on women and girls in their access to education and employment. One witness told the Tribunal: “Before 2021, I had a job and could go out. Now I have no job and can’t go out. My spirit is broken. Everything in my life has multiplied by zero. God never said we should lock people in their homes. Why are you putting women in solitary confinement?” Witnesses described how the Taliban violently suppressed women’s protests. This included hitting female protesters with the back of AK-47s, using pepper spray, and beating up those who were there to film these protests. Women were often held without orders in unofficial detention centers. In custody they experienced brutal beatings and torture and were interrogated until they agreed to forced confessions. A witness who was released from Taliban custody testified: “I was released from the Taliban prison cell, but I was locked up in another prison cell: the one in my house.”

The Taliban were not present or represented at the Tribunal, despite efforts to ensure they were informed of the hearings. Who are the Taliban members indicted by the Tribunal?

The indictment A document issued by the Tribunal identified ten individuals who would represent the core of the Taliban’s current power hierarchy.

1. Hibatullah answersThe Supreme Leader, said to be the ultimate decision maker, has the highest religious and political authority in Afghanistan and issues binding edicts (fatwas). Just a few months ago, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a ruling arrest warrant against him for his involvement in crimes against humanity, namely gender persecution.
2. sirayddin in HawkMinister of the Interior, oversees internal security, police and intelligence services, and controls powerful military and paramilitary forces. He is also the head of the Haqqani Network, a semi-autonomous faction known for suicide bombings and ties to al-Qaeda.
3. Mullah Mohammed YaqoobMinister of Defense, commands Taliban forces.
4. Abdul Gani BaradarDeputy Prime Minister (Political), considered the co-founder of the Taliban and led the negotiations in Doha.
5. Noor Mohammad SaqibMinister of Hajj and Religious Affairs, issues religious guidelines and has been instrumental in shaping the Taliban’s policies on gender and morality, including bans on women’s education and employment.
6. Sheikh Mohammed Khalid HanafiMinister of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, heads the moral police and enforces the Taliban’s moral laws.
7. Sheikh Abdul Hakim HaqqaniChief Justice of the Supreme Court, shapes legal interpretations under the Taliban’s Islamic legal system. He would play a central role in interpreting Sharia law for the Taliban judiciary, strengthening harsh rulings, including those restricting women’s rights, and instituting public punishment. He is the second person to be subjected to the Arrest warrants from the ICC for his involvement in crimes against humanity, namely gender persecution.
8. Ned Mohammed overMinister of Higher Education, would be responsible for the Taliban’s ban on women in universities and the promotion of a hardline curriculum aimed at bringing it into line with the Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islam.
9. Habibibrah WarMinister of Education, oversees the general education system. He is said to have implemented and defended the ban on secondary education for girls.
10. Abdul Haq Wasiqdirector of the Directorate General of Intelligence, leads the country’s intelligence operations across Afghanistan. He is said to have led efforts to consolidate control through a nationwide intelligence apparatus, which became a major instrument of state repression.

The indictment alleges that the Taliban’s actions amount to gender persecution as crimes against humanity, and calls for recognition, responsibility and international response to this crime.

Two of the accused, Mr Haibatullah Akhundzada and Mr Abdul Hakim Haqqani, have already been subjected to Arrest warrants from the ICC. However, as the arrest warrants remain unexecuted, the prospects of seeing the two men before the ICC are currently very low. The Tribunal investigates their involvement in crimes against humanity in the area of ​​gender persecution and enables the assessment and consideration of the cases to ensure that the world remains informed about the nature and extent of crimes against women and girls in Afghanistan. The Tribunal cannot replace the ICC or other criminal courts; However, it contributes to Afghan women being heard and seen by the world, while the Taliban do everything they can to silence them and make them invisible as they are locked in their homes.