KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban has publicly flogged a man in Ghazni province, southeastern Afghanistan, on charges of “moral corruption,” amid an increase in the use of corporal punishment.
In a statement, the Taliban Supreme Court announced that the man was publicly flogged in the Qara Bagh district of Ghazni on Monday, November 11.
The man was sentenced to 30 lashes and 29 days in prison following a ruling by the provincial Criminal Court, the court said.
This is the latest incident of corporal punishment carried out by the Taliban. In recent weeks, the Taliban have flogged hundreds of individuals, including women and LGBTQ+ people, on charges the regime deems as “moral corruption.”
Over the past three days alone, Taliban authorities have flogged at least 34 people, including 7 women, across several provinces of Afghanistan.
The UN Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) recently documented 111 cases of corporal punishment from July to September, including the flogging of 15 women and one girl. Additionally, the extremist group has carried out public executions, with at least five individuals convicted of murder publicly executed in the past two years.
The Taliban’s executions and corporal punishments have drawn widespread outcry and calls from the UN and human rights groups to immediately end these practices for being in breach of human rights and international law.
The Taliban leaders, however, defend their criminal justice system, arguing that it is in line with their interpretation of Islamic law, and they reject criticism from the international community as interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.
