Danish Siddiqui’s parents file ‘additional evidence’ against Taliban at International Criminal Court

The parents of photojournalist Danish Siddiqui have filed additional evidence with the International Criminal Court with respect to their complaint asking for an investigation into Siddiqui’s death. According to a press release issued by the Danish Siddiqui Foundation, the evidence includes affidavits, a medical opinion on the autopsy, and a copy of a WhatsApp chat purportedly between Taliban members.

The press release quoted the Siddiqui family’s lawyer, Avi Singh, as saying the evidence submitted “goes far in proving the culpability of the Taliban, including their leadership, in this heinous crime”.

Siddiqui, a photojournalist with Reuters, was killed on July 18, 2021. At the time, he was embedded with Afghan forces and reporting from Spin Boldak in Kandahar when Taliban fighters ambushed him. According to his family, his body had “marks of brutal torture”. In March this year, his parents Akhtar Siddiqui and Shahida Akhtar said they would initiate legal action to investigate his killing and bring to justice those responsible.

Yesterday, at a ceremony in New York, Siddiqui was also posthumously awarded his second Pulitzer Prize for feature photography. Announced in May, Siddiqui got the award for his work in documenting India’s Covid crisis in 2020.

Meanwhile, Siddiqui’s co-recipient of the award, Kashmiri photojournalist Sanna Irshad Mattoo, said Indian authorities at Delhi airport barred her from travelling abroad to attend the ceremony.

Read Newslaundry’s report from July 2021 where Kandahar locals recounted Siddiqui’s death.