KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban’s Supreme Court has announced that seven people were publicly flogged in the provinces of Kabul, Takhar, and Nangarhar.
In a statement, the court said a man was flogged in Kabul on Saturday for producing and consuming drugs. He received 39 lashes and was sentenced to two years in prison.
On Thursday, three individuals were publicly flogged in the Chah Aab district of Takhar province on charges of “adultery,” according to another court statement. Each received 39 lashes. Two were sentenced to six months in prison, while the third was given a one-year term.
Three more were flogged on Wednesday in the Spin Ghar district of Nangarhar province for alleged “sodomy.” Each received 39 lashes and prison sentences ranging from one to two years.
These floggings are part of an increasing pattern of public corporal punishment under Taliban rule. Reports indicate that such incidents are now occurring almost daily.
In December, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the UN Security Council that 108 people, including 26 women and one girl, were flogged across Afghanistan over a three-month period. Since the start of February, at least 67 people, including 14 women, have been subjected to public floggings on various charges.
The United Nations and human rights organizations have condemned the Taliban’s use of corporal punishment, calling it a violation of international human rights law and demanding an immediate end to the practice.
The Taliban, however, defend the punishments as part of their interpretation of Sharia law, dismissing criticism as “misrepresentation of Islamic principles.”
