KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban has publicly flogged 11 individuals, including a woman, in Nangarhar province, eastern Afghanistan, amid a recent surge in corporal punishment.
The Taliban Supreme Court announced in a statement that these individuals were flogged on charges of “adultery,” “sodomy,” and “illicit relationship” in Ghani Khel and Surkh Rod districts on Thursday, November 14.
According to the Taliban court, they received between 30 and 39 lashes each in the presence of local authorities and a crowd of residents.
This is the latest instance of corporal punishment carried out by the Taliban authorities. Over the past three years of their rule in Afghanistan, they have publicly flogged hundreds of people, including women, across the country.
According to a recent report by the UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), at least 111 people, including 15 women and one girl, were flogged across Afghanistan between July and September of this year.
Following the Taliban’s return to power, public executions have also resumed in Afghanistan, with at least six individuals convicted of murder publicly executed over the past two years.
The latest public execution took place on Thursday in eastern Paktia province, where a man accused of murder was executed in a sports stadium in the presence of Taliban authorities and local residents.
The Taliban’s public executions and corporal punishments have sparked widespread outcry and condemnation from the UN, rights groups, and activists. They argue that these practices violate international human rights law and undermine human dignity, urging the regime to cease such actions.
Following the latest public execution, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, said that these punishments are a clear violation of human rights, urging the Taliban to stop these “atrocious punishments.”
The Taliban authorities, however, have remained resolute thus far, insisting on the full implementation of Sharia law and dismissing any external calls as interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.
