Danish Siddiqui: Family of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist killed in Afghanistan approaches ICC

Family of slain Indian Reuters photojournalist seeks justice

The family of Indian journalist Danish Siddiqui, who is believed to have been brutally tortured and murdered by the Taliban while covering the armed conflict in Afghanistan in July last year, has approached the International Criminal Court (ICC) to seek an investigation into the events surrounding his killing.

The communication filed on Tuesday at the ICC by lawyer Avi Singh on behalf of Siddiqui’s parents Shahida and Mohammad Akhtar Siddiqui alleged attack, torture, and “unlawful killing” of the Reuters war correspondent and Pulitzer prize-winning journalist on 16 July 2021 in the Spin Boldak district of Afghanistan’s Kandahar province.

The family filed the complaint in the ongoing ICC investigation in the context of the “situation in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan” to specifically look into the crimes against humanity, including “murder, severe deprivation of physical liberty, torture, wilfully causing great suffering, persecution and other inhumane acts,” allegedly committed between 11-16 July against the journalist by anti-government forces identifying themselves as the Taliban.

In March 2020 the appeals chamber of the ICC decided to authorise an investigation into the alleged atrocity crimes committed within the context of theAfghanistan situation since 1 July 2002.

“We filed the petition that Danish’s killing be investigated in that situation,” Mr Singh said. “We have asked for investigation not only into the local commanders but also the leaders... and to take action (against them), including arrest warrants,” he said.

“It’s a long process, it is impossible to do investigation in Afghanistan today, but precedents are there,” Mr Singh said. “This does not mean that there can be no accountability.”

The complaint named several high-ranking Taliban commanders, including the acting defence minister of Afghanistan and the acting governor of Kandahar province, as the alleged perpetrators. It cited news sources to allege that Siddiqui was targeted for being Indian and a journalist.

Others named as involved in Siddiqui’s death include Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the supreme commander of the Taliban, Mullah Hassan Akhund, head of the Taliban Leadership Council, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, chief spokesperson and head of the Taliban’s political office in Qatar, Mawlawi Muhammad Yaqoob Mujahid, current minister of defence, Gul Agha Sherzai, current governor of Kandahar and Zabihullah Mujahid, another Taliban spokesperson.

On 11 July 2021, Siddiqui departed for Kandahar and was embedded with a unit of the Afghan Special Forces called to action after reports that a Taliban group was attempting to take control of Khan Baba village in the Dand district. On the intervening night of 12-13 July, Siddiqui accompanied his unit as they conducted combat missions in Kandahar.

On 13 July his embed unit came under heavy weapon fire. The Humvee in which Siddiqui was travelling with other special forces personnel was targeted by at least three rocket-propelled grenades but the journalist narrowly escaped with his life.

On 14 July, the Taliban forces moved into Spin Boldak and the Special Forces were called in to meet the insurgency. The petition stated that Siddiqui’s embed was extended by Reuters on 15 July and “after a brief 43-minute mail exchange, Reuter’s management signed off on the decision to embed Siddiqui for a midnight mission”.

He travelled with the Special Forces “even though this trip was highly dangerous for him as an Indian whose visceral reportage of the resistance had gained him notoriety with the Taliban”.

At around 11pm on 15 July Siddiqui set off on the mission towards Spin Boldak wearing a bulletproof jacket and a Kevlar helmet. The front of his jacket had ‘PRESS’ sprawled across it in English along with translations in Pashto and Dari. The convoy was attacked by Taliban forces at around 7.30am on 16 July and Danish was injured in the crossfire. He took shelter in a nearby mosque where he was tended to by medic and Major Sediq Karzai, an officer in the Special Forces.

While he was being given medical attention, his unit was forced to retreat, leaving him behind. As word spread that a journalist was there in the mosque, the Taliban attacked and took Siddiqui in their custody after ascertaining his identity, according to media reports from the time. He was then reportedly tortured, killed and his body mutilated.

The petition alleged that Siddiqui’s killing was part of the Taliban’s “well established practice of murdering journalists”. After gaining control of Spin Boldak, the Taliban is said to have massacred at least 40 civilians as part of revenge killings, the complaint said. The Taliban also attacked the mosque where Siddiqui had sought refuge and in doing so “they attacked a place of worship that has customarily been considered as a place of refuge and asylum during conflict”.

Siddiqui’s brother Omar Siddiqui told The Independent on Tuesday that his grief-stricken parents have found it very difficult to move on in the past year.

“They are heartbroken. They are finding it very difficult to move on. He has always gone on assignments but this time he didn’t come back. They are dealing with all his memories - photographs, old WhatsApp messages, and especially tormented by the manner of his killing,” Mr Siddiqui said.

The complaint stated “by all independent accounts” that the Taliban “knowingly and intentionally” subjected Siddiqui to “humiliating and degrading treatment by stripping his jacket and helmet, running him over with a vehicle and shooting him multiple times” despite his protection as a journalist and civilian. He was also shot multiple times from close range.

“As a war correspondent, he was entitled to Prisoner of War status. He was completely unarmed. Taliban were aware of his status, from his outfits, clear markings, and communication with him,” the complaint noted, citing several media reports to draw the conclusion that many of the injuries on Siddiqui’s body were ante mortem, or inflicted before his death.

“This is not an isolated incident,” said Mr Singh.

Mr Siddiqui said the best the family can do now is hope for a closure.

“We must use whatever means we have to at least get a sense of closure so we have no regrets 10 or 15 years from now that we didn’t do anything,” he said.

The ICC does not have its own police force or enforcement body and relies on cooperation with countries worldwide for support, for making arrests, transferring arrested persons to the ICC detention centre in The Hague, freezing assets, and enforcing sentences.

Mr Siddiqui harboured the hope that the tide will turn against the Taliban one day and they will be brought to justice. “Regimes change and some day change might come, and the people (who murdered Danish) will be brought to justice. For now, we need to document the crimes, and have evidence on paper,” he said.

Siddiqui was part of a team that won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for feature photography for their coverage of Rohingya refugees escaping the violence in Myanmar. His searing images also captured the pain and vulnerability of India’s struggle during the coronavirus pandemic.