Prayer Hub

Afghanistan: ICC issues arrest warrants for two leaders

10 Jul 2025

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for two senior Taliban figures - supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and chief justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani - accusing them of crimes against humanity through systematic gender-based persecution. Since the Taliban's return to power in August 2021, girls have been banned from education beyond sixth grade, women forced into veiling and isolation, and LGBTQ individuals have also been targeted. This is the first time an international tribunal has legally recognised LGBTQ people as victims of gender-based crimes against humanity. Though the Taliban dismissed the warrants as fuelled by ‘enmity and hatred for the pure religion of Islam’, international rights groups have praised the move as a historic and necessary step toward accountability and justice for the victims of ongoing gender-based oppression in Afghanistan. The decision came the day after the UN General Assembly expressed ‘serious concern about the widespread and systematic oppression of all women and girls in Afghanistan’, and called for the Taliban to ‘swiftly reverse these policies’.

Guinea: human rights activists disappeared a year ago

10 Jul 2025

A full year has passed since Guinean activists Oumar Sylla (known as Foniké Menguè) and Mamadou Billo Bah were forcibly disappeared on 9 July 2024, with no word on their whereabouts. Arrested by armed men in Conakry and reportedly taken to the Loos archipelago, the two members of the now-banned National Front for the Defence of the Constitution (FNDC) are believed to have endured torture and secret detention. Their case reflects a troubling rise in forced disappearances under Guinea’s ruling junta, which human rights organisations describe as a ‘climate of terror.’ Other victims include civil society leader Abdoul Sacko - abducted, tortured, and abandoned in the bush - and lawyer Mohamed Traoré, also abducted and abused. Despite initial promises of investigations, authorities have remained silent. Amnesty International has called for immediate and transparent inquiries, but families continue to wait in anguish. As hope fades, the international community is urged to demand accountability for Guinea’s growing list of enforced disappearances.

Suriname: first woman president faces challenges

10 Jul 2025

Jennifer Geerlings-Simons has made history as Suriname’s first female president, elected amid political and economic turmoil. The 71-year-old physician and lawmaker was backed by a two-thirds parliamentary vote after inconclusive May elections and growing dissatisfaction with outgoing president Chandrikapersad Santokhi’s austerity measures; his administration has also faced corruption allegations. Geerlings-Simons, who ran unopposed, will assume office on 16 July along with her running mate Gregory Rusland. She inherits a nation burdened by debt, economic instability, and public frustration, but one with the hopeful prospect of offshore oil production starting in 2028. Her administration has pledged to stabilise state finances through stricter tax enforcement, but economists warn of a difficult path ahead, with debt repayments nearing $400 million annually. As Suriname approaches its 50th year of independence, the country (which is one of the continent’s poorest nations, with a rich ethnic tapestry) looks to Geerlings-Simons for leadership in a time of fragile transition and high expectations.

Bangladesh: did Sheikh Hasina authorise killing protesters?

10 Jul 2025

A leaked audio recording verified by BBC Eye reveals that former prime minister Sheikh Hasina authorised lethal force against student-led protesters during last year’s deadly unrest. In the recording, Hasina is heard instructing security forces to use lethal weapons and to shoot wherever protesters are found. The protests, initially sparked by opposition to civil service job quotas, escalated into a mass movement that led to Hasina's ousting in July 2024, after fifteen years in power. According to UN investigators, up to 1,400 people were killed in what became Bangladesh’s deadliest violence since its 1971 independence war. The leaked call, which has been authenticated by audio forensics experts, occurred on 18 July, as outrage grew over video evidence of police killings. Hasina, now in exile in India, faces charges of crimes against humanity in a special tribunal. The recording is considered a key piece of evidence in the proceedings.