International Criminal Court limits Afghanistan investigation to Taliban crimes

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Judges at the International Criminal Court have ended the part of the global tribunal’s investigation into Afghanistan that could have involved U.S. military personnel, instead limiting the probe to crimes committed by the Taliban, according to court filings released Friday.

The ruling comes as the court and 13 current and former staff members are under sanctions by the Trump administration, which is opposed to any investigation into American citizens or U.S. allies, such as Israel.

The decision, which was issued Thursday but only made public on Friday, cites “significant limitations to the Prosecution’s ability to conduct its investigations and secure evidence” in the case. It does not elaborate.

The court's prosecutor's office told The Associated Press it has already appealed the decision.

It is not clear if the decision will mitigate Washington's attacks on the court. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has threatened to “dismantle the ICC — brick by brick, if necessary." The United States is not a member of the court and does not recognize its jurisdiction.

But the U.S. has also taken issue with the ICC's investigation into Israeli officials. The court has outstanding arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as his former defense minister, over allegations of crimes against humanity in Gaza. They have strongly rejected the accusations. Judges at the global court authorized an investigation in 2020 covering offenses allegedly committed by Afghan government forces, the Taliban, American troops and U.S. foreign intelligence operatives dating back to 2002. Two years later, then-chief prosecutor Karim Khan chose to “deprioritize” aspects of the investigation that could have involved Americans, citing challenges in obtaining evidence. Khan was ousted over sexual misconduct allegations earlier this year.

The part of the investigation involving the Taliban will be split off into a separate inquiry.

Last month, the court unsealed arrest warrants against four senior Taliban leaders, accusing them of the crime against humanity of gender persecution against women, girls and members of the LGBTQI+ community in Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power in 2021.