KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban has publicly flogged seven people on various charges in the provinces of Kunduz, Uruzgan, and Ghazni, as corporal punishment continues to be enforced.
In multiple statements on Sunday, the Taliban Supreme Court announced that the punishments were carried out in the presence of local authorities and residents.
In Uruzgan province, three individuals were flogged on Saturday, February 9, for charges of “murder,” “sodomy,” and “illicit relationship.” They were lashed between 30 and 39 times and sentenced to prison terms ranging from six months to one and a half years.
In Kunduz province, the Taliban court said that two people convicted of assault were flogged 15 times each on Monday, February 10, and were also sentenced to eight months in prison.
In southeastern Ghazni province, two others were flogged for “relationship outside marriage,” receiving 39 lashes and 18-month prison sentences.
Public floggings have become a routine occurrence since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, with hundreds of individuals, including women, girls, and members of the LGBTQ+ community, facing corporal punishment on various charges.
Human rights organizations and the United Nations have condemned the practice. Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, stated in his report last year that the Taliban’s use of corporal punishment amounts to “torture and other ill-treatment,” which are forbidden under international law.
Bennett also expressed concerns about the administration of justice under the Taliban, citing credible reports of defendants, including children, being denied access to legal representation. “There are credible reports of courts in several provinces denying defendants, including children, access to their lawyers,” he said.
Despite international outcry, the Taliban defends its policies, arguing that public floggings and executions are in line with its interpretation of Sharia law and dismissing external criticism as interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.
