This is a historic step toward global justice and a voice for Afghan women, minorities, journalists, and victims.
In Support of the Judicial Process in Spain and the Pursuit of Justice for Women, Minorities, Former Soldiers, Journalists, and Victims of Taliban Crimes
More than one hundred organizations, associations, women’s protest movements, and members of the Afghan diaspora, in solidarity with the people of Afghanistan, welcome the initiation of legal proceedings in the Spanish court against the perpetrators and supporters of crimes committed in Afghanistan, and regard it as a historic step toward global justice.
Over the past four years, the people of Afghanistan have witnessed widespread and systematic violations of human rights under Taliban rule. Afghan women have been the first and primary victims of this misogynistic regime, deprived of their rights to education, employment, healthcare, freedom of movement, and social participation. Arbitrary detentions, torture, and enforced disappearances have been used deliberately to silence women’s voices and erase them from public life.
However, these crimes are not limited to women. Ethnic and religious minorities, particularly Hazaras, Uzbeks, Tajiks, Sikhs, and Hindus, have been direct targets of massacres, land grabbing, systemic discrimination, and forced displacement. These policies, implemented across central, northern, and western Afghanistan, have sought to alter demographic composition and eliminate indigenous communities.
Alongside them, former soldiers, journalists, civil and cultural activists, and members of Afghanistan’s modern society have also been victims of revenge killings, extrajudicial executions, torture, censorship, and organized repression. Dozens of journalists have been killed or disappeared, and thousands of former soldiers have been executed or imprisoned in silence and impunity.
These actions constitute clear violations of international law and amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and gender apartheid, requiring prosecution at the international level.
We believe that the Spanish court can represent a genuine first step toward reviving the principle of Universal Jurisdiction to hold the perpetrators of these crimes accountable, not only for Afghanistan, but in defense of human dignity and international justice as a whole.
In this regard, we call on the Government of Spain and the European Union to continue the judicial process against the Taliban and their regional or international supporters without political consideration, ensure safe testimony and participation of victims including women, minorities, former soldiers, and journalists, refrain from any political, financial, or diplomatic engagement with the Taliban that may undermine the pursuit of justice, provide legal, psychological, and protective support to victims and witnesses of this case, and strengthen cooperation between the Spanish court and international institutions such as the International Criminal Court (ICC).
We affirm that justice for Afghanistan can only be achieved when the voices of all victims are heard: women, minorities, former soldiers, journalists, civil activists, and displaced people. This court is not only an attempt to punish perpetrators but also a step toward restoring hope, dignity, and trust to the people of Afghanistan.
#JusticeForAfghanistan
