KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban Supreme Court announced on Tuesday that a man and a woman have been publicly flogged in Ghazni province, southeastern Afghanistan, on charges of “adultery.”
According to the Taliban court, the individuals were publicly flogged in Muqur district on Sunday, December 8, after receiving approval from the regime’s supreme court and the provincial court.
The accused individuals were each given 35 lashes in the presence of local Taliban authorities and residents of the province. Additionally, one individual was sentenced to three years in prison, while the other received a five-year sentence, the court added.
Despite widespread condemnation and global calls for the Taliban to end corporal punishment, the regime continues to carry out these acts, with a recent increase in the number of floggings.
Since the beginning of December, the Taliban has publicly flogged at least 19 people, including three women, in Kapisa, Khost, Faryab, and Ghazni provinces on various charges. In November, the Taliban flogged at least 81 people, including 15 women, across Afghanistan.
The UN, rights groups and activists argue that corporal punishment violates international law and human rights. Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, stated in his latest report that the Taliban’s use of corporal punishment constitutes “torture and other ill-treatment,” which are prohibited under international law.
Bennett documented an “alarming increase” in corporal punishment since the beginning of 2024. He cited the Taliban’s Supreme Court, which reported that 276 Afghans, including 46 women, were publicly punished between January and August.
He also raised concerns about the enforcement of the criminal justice system by the Taliban, stating that the situation is compounded by the lack of legal safeguards, including access to lawyers, and the denial of other due process rights. “There are credible reports of courts in several provinces denying defendants, including children, access to their lawyers,” Bennett said.
The Taliban defend their policies, including public flogging and executions, arguing that they align with their interpretation of Sharia. They dismiss international criticism as interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.
