The International Criminal Court has stopped investigating alleged crimes by American troops in Afghanistan. ICC judges ruled on Thursday, and the decision was made public on Friday. The court will now focus on alleged crimes by the Taliban since 2021.
The judges pointed to “significant limitations” on the prosecution’s ability to investigate and gather evidence, according to Al Jazeera. The same ruling also closed the probe into the Islamic State affiliate in Khorasan Province (ISKP).
A probe that had gone quiet
The Afghanistan investigation was opened in 2020. It covered alleged offences going back to 2002 by Afghan government forces, the Taliban, US troops and US intelligence operatives.
The US part had been largely dormant for years. In 2021, the then prosecutor Karim Khan said he would “deprioritise” the investigation into American forces, citing difficulty in getting evidence. Khan was removed from the court earlier this year over sexual misconduct allegations.
The prosecutor’s office told AP and Reuters that it has already appealed the judges’ decision.
Pressure from Washington
The ruling comes after a long fight between the United States and the court in The Hague. Washington has sanctioned 13 current and former ICC staff over the Afghanistan probe and over arrest warrants issued for Israeli officials.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said President Donald Trump “will never allow” the court to prosecute Americans. In October, he vowed to keep dismantling the ICC piece by piece until Americans are no longer at risk.
The US is not a member of the ICC and does not accept its jurisdiction. It is unclear whether the ruling will change Washington’s stance or ease the sanctions.
What it means for Afghans
For Afghan victims, the case now narrows to the Taliban. The ICC issued four arrest warrants for Taliban leaders last year, and that line of inquiry continues.
Afghans who say they were harmed by foreign forces now have one less route to a hearing at the ICC, unless the appeal succeeds. The probe had been meant to cover all sides of a war that lasted about two decades.
What happens next
The appeals chamber will now consider the prosecutor’s challenge. Until it rules, the investigation into US personnel stays closed, while the Taliban inquiry goes ahead.
Reporting based on Al Jazeera.
Featured image: Sgt. Ken Scar (U.S. Armed Forces), via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
