KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Taliban judicial officials announced Thursday that a man was publicly flogged in northeastern Baghlan province on charges of selling alcohol.
In a statement, the Taliban Supreme Court said the man was lashed 39 times in front of local authorities and the public on Thursday, January 2. He was also sentenced to one year in prison based on the verdict of the Taliban primary court and the approval of the Taliban highest court.
Following their return to power, the Taliban leaders have implemented a criminal justice system based on their strict interpretation of Islamic law (Sharia), resulting in the public flogging of hundreds of men, women, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
The Taliban practice of public flogging has intensified in recent months, with the regime carrying it out almost daily. In December alone, the regime flogged at least 50 people, including at least 8 women, on various charges across Afghanistan.
In his latest report, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres documented the flogging of 108 people, including 26 women and a girl, in Afghanistan between August and October 2024.
The Taliban’s public flogging has sparked persistent outrage and calls from the UN and rights groups to halt the practice for being in breach of international laws and human rights.
In his report last year, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, highlighted that the Taliban’s use of corporal punishment amounts to “torture and other ill-treatment.”
He documented an “alarming increase” in corporal punishment since the start of 2024. He stated that while most individuals were flogged for crimes such as theft and adultery, some were also punished for sodomy and homosexuality, highlighting the specific risks faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other gender minorities in the country.
Bennett questioned the enforcement of the Taliban’s criminal justice system, stating that the situation is worsened by the lack of legal protections, such as 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,” he said.
