KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban Supreme Court announced that five individuals, including a woman, were publicly flogged in Kapisa province, northeastern Afghanistan, for “adultery” and “sodomy.”
In a statement today, the court said the flogging of these individuals took place in the presence of local authorities and residents of the province on Wednesday, December 4.
According to the statement, three of the individuals received 39 lashes and were sentenced to one and a half years in prison. One individual received 20 lashes and a one-year prison sentence, while another received 39 lashes and a two-year prison sentence.
This incident is part of a growing wave of public corporal punishment in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. In recent months, the regime has carried out numerous floggings, including women and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
In November alone, the Taliban publicly flogged at least 81 people, including 15 women, on various charges across 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. Furthermore, the extremist group has carried out public executions, with at least six individuals convicted of murder executed in the past three years.
Human rights organizations and the UN have strongly condemned these practices as violations of international law and human rights. They also criticized the lack of due process in the Taliban’s judicial system, which often denies defendants access to legal representation and fair trials.
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.
