KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban’s Supreme Court has announced the public flogging of seven individuals, including three women, in the provinces of Kapisa, Paktia, and Ghazni, as part of their enforcement of strict moral codes.
According to court officials in Kapisa, two women and a man were lashed for “running away from home,” while another woman and a man faced the same punishment for “adultery.” Sentences ranged from eight to 39 lashes and included prison terms of six months to one year. These punishments were administered during a public gathering.
In Paktia province, a man convicted of theft received 39 lashes and a one-year prison sentence, with his flogging conducted publicly in the provincial capital on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, in Ghazni’s Moqur district, another man accused of misconduct was whipped 39 times in public and sentenced to four years in prison.
This marks the latest in a series of corporal punishments carried out by the Taliban since their return to power in 2021. In recent months, hundreds of people, including women and members of the LGBTQ+ community, have been flogged on charges the Taliban describe as “moral corruption.”
The UN Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) recently documented 111 cases of corporal punishment from July to September 2024 alone, including the flogging of 15 women and a minor girl. Additionally, at least five public executions of individuals convicted of murder have been carried out over the past two years, according to UNAMA.
The Taliban’s punitive measures have drawn widespread condemnation from the international community. Human rights organizations and the United Nations have repeatedly called on the group to cease these practices, which they say violate human rights and international law.
Taliban officials, however, defend their actions, claiming their criminal justice system aligns with their interpretation of Islamic law. They dismiss international criticism as unwarranted interference in Afghanistan’s domestic affairs.
