On December 4-6, 2019, the Center for Constitutional Rights presented argument before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on behalf of two men detained at Guantánamo, urging the court to authorize an investigation of torture and other crimes committed since May 2003. The Appeals Chamber will issue its judgment in open court on March 5, 2020.

The appeal follows the Pre-Trial Chamber's denial of the request by the ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to open a formal investigation into crimes committed in Afghanistan and territories of other states that are parties to the ICC arising out of inter alia torture by the C.I.A. and other U.S. actors, issued on April 12, 2019. ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda filed her request with the Pre-Trial Chamber on November 20, 2017. The request followed a decade-long preliminary examination into possible international crimes committed on the territory of Afghanistan, which became a state party to the ICC on May 1, 2003. The investigation would explore crimes committed in the context of the armed conflict in Afghanistan by U.S. forces or the C.I.A., members of the Taliban, and officials of the Afghan government. The Center for Constitutional Rights submitted victims' representations on behalf of Sharqawi Al Hajj and Guled Duran in support of the Prosecutor's request in January 2018.

For more information, see our case page and the ICC’s press release and hearing details. The hearing will be live streamed.