Parents of Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Danish Siddiqui have moved International Criminal Court (ICC) seeking a probe against the Taliban for war crimes including murder and torture. The communication sent to the prosecutor Karim Khan's office was a request to be impleaded in ICC's ongoing investigation on Afghanistan which is called a 'Situation'.
Siddique's parents Mohd Akhtar and Shahida Siddique said on July 16 2021, the Taliban attacked, tortured, and unlawfully killed their son Danish, who was covering the Afghanistan conflict for Reuters. In their complaint, the Siddiques alleged that the Taliban subjected Danish to humiliating and degrading treatment by stripping his jacket and helmet, running him over with a vehicle, and shooting him multiple times.
The Taliban knowingly and intentionally tortured Siddique, mutilated his body, and tortured him despite knowing that he enjoyed the protected status of a journalist. The 34-page complaint further added that the Taliban's capture and confinement of Siddique before killing him were led by their official policy of targetting civilians.
The complaint accuses Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, Supreme Commander of the Taliban along with other top leadership including Mullah Hassan Akhund(Taliban Council Head), Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar (Chief Spokesperson), Mawlawi Muhammad Yaqoob Mujahid (acting Defence Minister), Zabihullah Mujahid (Taliban Spokesperson), Gul Agha Sherzai (governor of Kandahar province) and other local commanders, as well as the 'Red Unit' as being perpetrators of war crimes.
On July 16, Siddique was caught in the crossfire while he was on assignment in Afghanistan's Spin Boldak region while covering the Taliban conflict as Reuters Chief Photographer. Siddique was one of the 40 casualties of "revenge killings" by the Taliban during their offense against the constitutional government, the complaint read. In a Twitter thread published three days before his death, Siddiqui had documented the clash in Kandahar in a series of videos and photos.
Also Read: Reuters Photojournalist Danish Siddiqui Killed In Afghanistan
Why did the Siddiques file a complaint before the ICC?
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Danish Siddique's death falls within the ambit of a war crime, his parents alleged in the complaint before the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC is an intergovernmental organization and a permanent tribunal situated at The Hague that is empowered to prosecute individuals for war crimes.
It is a distinct organization from the International Court of Justice (ICJ)—the judicial arm of the United Nations—which adjudicates disputes between countries.
According to the complaint, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan submitted its instrument of accession empowering the ICC to exercise jurisdiction for Crimes listed in the Rome Statue that may have been committed in the country.
The Victims Participation Representation Section (VPRS), a scheme approved by the ICC to allow prosecutors to probe war crimes in Afghanistan, will help facilitate representations by victims like Siddique's parents, before the ICC.
The prosecutor in September 2021 requested authorization to resume probe in Afghanistan on the grounds that post-August 15, 2021 the ensuing violence in the country may be constituted as an unconstitutional transfer of power. Since then, the VPRS has submitted two other volumes of representations filed by the victims of Taliban. Between December 7, 2017 and February 9, 2018 699 victims filed representations through the VPRS.