International Criminal Court (ICC) judges are weighing over one million statements from Afghans who allege they are victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by actors in the armed conflict there, including Afghan forces, the Taliban, the CIA, and the U.S. military.
The victims began submitting their statements to the ICC judges in late November after ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda asked the court for authorization to begin a formal probe of possible war crimes committed in Afghanistan, saying, “there is a reasonable basis to believe that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in connection with the armed conflict in Afghanistan.” The development, said Solomon Sacco, head of international justice at Amnesty International, was “a seminal moment for the ICC.”
Victims had until January 31, 2018 to submit their testimonies.
The Associated Press reports Friday that the Hague-based court “has gotten a staggering 1.17 million statements,” and since “one statement might include multiple victims and one organization might represent thousands of victim statements, the number of Afghans seeking justice from the ICC could be several million.”
After reviewing all the statements, the judges will then decide whether or not to begin the war crime probe requested by Bensouda.
Among the victims, BBC News reported this month, is Ahmad Eshchi, a political rival of General Abdul Rashid Dostum.
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