KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban authorities publicly executed a man accused of murder in Paktia province, eastern Afghanistan, on Wednesday, marking the sixth public execution since their return to power in the country.
The Taliban Supreme Court announced in a statement that the man, identified as Mohammad Ayaz, was executed in a sports stadium in Gardez, the capital city. The statement said he had killed a person with a gun and was sentenced to retaliation punishment, or Qisas.
According to the statement, the execution was carried out following approval from the Taliban’s triple military court (primary, appellate, and Tamiz) and the final order of the regime’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada.
The statement noted that the execution took place in the presence of senior Taliban authorities, including Sirajuddin Haqqani, the regime’s interior minister, Khalilur Rahman Haqqani, the minister for refugees, and a large crowd of local residents.
The evening before the execution, the office of the Taliban governor in Paktia called on authorities and local residents to “attend this event” via social media.
This was the sixth public execution carried out by the Taliban since their return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021. Since then, the regime has publicly executed one man in Farah, two in Ghazni, one in Laghman, and another in Jowzan province.
Despite initial promises of a more moderate rule, the Taliban began enforcing severe public punishments including executions, floggings, and stonings shortly after seizing power. The punishments are similar to those imposed during their previous rule of Afghanistan in the late 1990s.
Over the past three years, the Taliban has publicly flogged hundreds of people, including women and LGBTQ+ individuals, on various charges across the country, with a rising incidence in recent weeks.
The UN and rights groups have strongly condemned such practices as “inconsistent with the fundamental right to life” and “a form of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.” They have repeatedly called on the Taliban to halt these practices.
Rights groups also argue that the Taliban courts do not follow fair trial procedures or standard legal practices, with accused individuals being denied the right to legal representation in their defense.
Last year, following the public execution of two men in Ghazni, Amnesty International urged the international community and the UN to increase pressure on the Taliban to uphold international law, halt all executions, and abolish the death penalty.
“We oppose all executions as a violation of the right to life. The Taliban has been repeatedly carrying them out publicly which is a gross affront to human dignity as well as a violation of international laws and standards and cannot be tolerated,” said Livia Saccardi, Amnesty International’s interim Deputy Regional Director for South Asia.
“It’s high time that the international community and the UN up the pressure on the blatant human rights violations by the Taliban and help ensure that international safeguards are respected in Afghanistan,” she added.
The fundamentalist regime, however, has ignored international criticism and calls to halt executions and corporal punishment, with its leader emphasizing the continuation of these practices, saying that he is enforcing Sharia law in Afghanistan.
