KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban Supreme Court announced that a man was publicly flogged for illicit relationship in Paktika province, eastern Afghanistan, on Monday.
In a statement, the court said the man was flogged in Yahya Khel district in the presence of local authorities and residents.
The statement said the man received 21 lashes and a six-month prison sentence following a verdict issued by the Taliban primary court in the district.
This is the latest instance of corporal punishment carried out by the Taliban. In recent months, the regime has publicly flogged hundreds of people, including women, on charges the Taliban deem as “moral corruption.”
In its recent report, the UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) documented 111 cases of corporal punishment, including 15 women and a girl, over the past three months (June to September).
In the past ten days alone, Taliban authorities have publicly flogged nearly 50 people, including ten women, across several provinces of Afghanistan.
Additionally, the Taliban has publicly executed at least six people convicted of murder throughout the country.
The UN and international human rights organizations have condemned the Taliban’s use of corporal punishment and public executions, emphasizing that these practices violate international human rights law and urging their immediate cessation.
The Taliban leaders, however, have disregarded international criticism and calls to end corporal punishment. Its supreme leader recently emphasized the continuation of these practices, saying that he is enforcing Sharia law in Afghanistan.
