Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui’s parents will move the International Criminal Court against the Taliban over Siddiqui’s death in Afghanistan last year. He was killed last July while covering a clash between Afghan security forces and Taliban fighters in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar city.
The family said in an official statement, “On Tuesday, March 22, 2022, Danish Siddiqui’s parents, Akhtar Siddiqui and Shahida Akhtar, will initiate legal action to investigate his murder and bring those responsible, including high level commanders and leaders of the Taliban, to Will put you in the dock of justice.”
Describing Danish’s killing as a “crime against humanity” and a “war crime”, the statement said: “On July 16, 2021, Pulitzer Prize-winning Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui was illegally detained by the Taliban, They were tortured and murdered, and their bodies mutilated. This act and this murder is not only a murder, but a crime against humanity and a war crime. This was not an isolated incident. The Taliban’s military code of conduct, published as Layha, has a policy of attacking civilians, including journalists. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan documented more than 70,000 civilian deaths linked to the Taliban.”
Advocate Avi Singh will represent the family in the matter. The Taliban overthrew a democratically elected government in August last year and took Afghanistan by surprise in power.
He started his career as a television news correspondent in Danish Siddiqui Ki Baat Keon and later turned to photojournalism. He was a photojournalist with the international news agency Reuters.