KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban’s Supreme Court has announced that five individuals were publicly flogged in Ghazni province, including the city and Moqor district, on charges of “sodomy” and “illicit relationships.”
According to a court statement, three men were flogged today, November 11, in Ghazni city following a verdict by the provincial Criminal Court. Each was sentenced to 30 lashes and two years in prison.
Separately, the court reported that a man and a woman were flogged yesterday in the Moqor district for “illicit relationships,” receiving 39 lashes each. The woman was further sentenced to five years in prison, while the man received a one-year sentence.
This incident is part of a growing wave of public corporal punishment under Taliban rule. In recent months, the regime has carried out numerous floggings, including women and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Over the past two days alone, Taliban authorities have flogged at least 29 people, including six women, across various provinces.
The UN Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) recently documented 111 cases of corporal punishment between July and September, including the flogging of 15 women and one girl. Public executions have also resumed, with at least five individuals convicted of murder publicly executed over the past two years.
International rights groups and the UN have condemned these actions as violations of international law and human dignity, criticizing the lack of fair legal procedures, particularly the absence of legal representation for the accused.
Despite escalating international pressure, the Taliban remain steadfast in enforcing their interpretation of Sharia law throughout Afghanistan.
