VANCOUVER, CANADA – The Supreme Court of the Taliban has pronounced judgement on three individuals in Kandahar province, condemning them to imprisonment and corporal punishment for their purported ‘political activities.’
In a formal statement issued today, April 4, 2024, the court announced the conviction of these three individuals by the military court of the Kandahar zone.
According to the Taliban Supreme Court, two of the convicted individuals have been sentenced to 15 years behind bars each, while the third has been subjected to 30 lashes and a prison term, though the exact duration remains unspecified.
Although the group has been arresting and punishing activists and critics since it returned to power, this marks the inaugural instance of the Taliban Supreme Court publicly acknowledging the incarceration of individuals for political engagement.
Last week, the regime confirmed, after days of controversy, that it had evicted the leader of Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin Hekmatyar from his home that was provided by the former government. In the back and forth between those close to Mr. Hekmatyar and the Taliban that followed, the group’s authorities said that there is no place for political parties under their rule and even talking about it could be a crime.
Additionally, the Taliban Supreme Court disclosed that the military court under its jurisdiction in Kandahar has sentenced another individual to eight years in prison on charges of ‘moral corruption.’
Yesterday, on April 3, the Taliban’s military court in Kandahar meted out 30 lashes and imprisonment to another individual on drug-related charges. However, the court’s statement did not specify the duration of imprisonment for this case.
Furthermore, today, the group sentenced a man and a woman in Kabul to 35 lashes each for alleged ‘illicit relations,’ with the man receiving a four-year sentence and the woman a three-year term of imprisonment.
Local sources from Logar also report that the Taliban have administered lashes to seven individuals, one of whom is a woman, within the province. The source indicates that the public lashing took place in Mohammad Agha district of Logar province shortly before Friday prayers.
The individuals in question were accused of involvement in ‘illicit relationships,’ each receiving between 25 to 39 lashes, as specified by the sources.
The Taliban Supreme Court, via a statement announced the lashing of a man and a woman accused of extramarital relations by the primary court of Deh Sabz district in Kabul province.
It’s noteworthy that over the last three days, the Taliban have subjected several individuals to lashings on charges of ‘deception and illicit relations’ across the provinces of Khost, Kandahar, and Faryab.
Since reclaiming control over Afghanistan, the Taliban have reinstated public punishments, including executions, with five people publicly executed thus far across various provinces including Farah, Laghman, Ghazni, and Jowzjan.
Previously, Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban leader, had reiterated the group’s commitment to exercising corporal punishments such as public execution and stoning of women.
Human rights organizations vehemently oppose the public extrajudicial punishment of accused individuals by the Taliban, denouncing it as a gross violation of human dignity and calling for its immediate cessation.
