The International Criminal Court (ICC) has rejected a request to investigate alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.
Announcing the decision, judges cited Afghanistan’s instability and difficulties faced by investigators in the country. The decision comes one week after the US revoked the entry visa of an ICC prosecutor.
Reprieve Deputy Director Katie Taylor said: “Today’s decision will be a grave disappointment for survivors of war-on-terror era torture who have waited nearly two decades for justice.
As yet another avenue for accountability closes, we must remember that in July 2018 the UK Government pledged to announce within 60 days whether it would launch a judge-led inquiry with scope to investigate these abuses and others like them.
It has been 285 days since that pledge was made, six months since that deadline was missed, and 18 years since many of these abuses took place. Survivors deserve better.”
