Judges at the International Criminal Court have ordered prosecutors to stop investigating alleged crimes by American troops in Afghanistan. Instead, the court will focus on the Taliban’s conduct since 2021, according to court documents released on Friday. The ruling was issued on Thursday but only made public the following day.
The judges cited “significant limitations to the Prosecution’s ability to conduct its investigations and secure evidence.” The decision comes amid a series of feuds between Washington and the Hague-based court. The United States sanctioned 13 current and former ICC staff members over the probe into US personnel and over arrest warrants issued against Israeli officials.
Ruling closes two lines of inquiry
The decision ends the inquiry into US troops, which had been dormant since 2021. It also closes the investigation into the ISIL affiliate in Khorasan Province (ISKP). The prosecutor’s office told news agencies that it has already appealed the ruling.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “President Trump will never allow the International Criminal Court to prosecute Americans.” In an October statement, Rubio also warned that “the United States will continue its campaign to dismantle the ICC, brick by brick, until Americans are threatened no longer.”
Limits of the court’s reach in Afghanistan
It is unclear whether the decision will change Washington’s stance on the ICC. The United States is not a member of the court and does not recognise its jurisdiction. The court’s founding statute allows it to prosecute anyone accused of atrocity crimes committed on the territory of member states.
The ICC issued four arrest warrants for Taliban leaders last year. The Afghanistan investigation began in 2020 and covers alleged offences by Afghan government forces, the Taliban, American troops and US foreign intelligence operatives dating back to 2002.
In 2021, prosecutor Karim Khan announced he would “deprioritise” the investigation into American forces, citing challenges in obtaining evidence. Khan was ousted from the court earlier this year over sexual misconduct allegations.
