KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban Supreme Court has announced that three people were publicly flogged for adultery in Samangan province, central Afghanistan, on Tuesday.
In a statement today, the court said the punishment was carried out in a sports stadium in Khulm district, in the presence of local authorities and residents.
According to the statement, these individuals received 39 lashes each following a verdict issued by the Taliban primary court in the district.
Shortly after returning to power, the Taliban, despite initial promises of a more moderate rule, began enforcing harsh public punishments, including floggings, stonings, and executions, similar to their rule in the late 1990s.
Over the past three years, hundreds of people, including women and LGBT+ individuals, have been publicly flogged, mostly for adultery, sodomy, and theft.
In the past week alone, Taliban authorities have publicly flogged at least 48 people, including ten women, in several provinces of Afghanistan.
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).
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.
