KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban on Friday publicly executed four men accused of murder in three provinces of Afghanistan, bringing the total number of such executions to ten since the group returned to power in August 2021.
In separate statements, the group’s supreme court confirmed that the executions took place in Badghis, Nimruz, and Farah provinces.
In Badghis province, two men identified as Sulaiman and Haidar were executed in front of a gathered crowd. In Nimruz, Abdul Qadir, convicted of killing a man named Farahuddin, was executed in the provincial capital, Zaranj. The fourth man, Mohammad Sadiq, was executed in a sports stadium in Farah for the murder of a man named Bismellah.
According to the court, each case was reviewed and approved by all three levels of the Taliban’s judiciary — the primary, appellate, and supreme (Tamiz) courts — and received final authorization from the group’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada.
Local authorities and residents were reportedly called upon to attend the executions the evening before they took place.
The executions prompted immediate condemnation from Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Bennett described the executions as a “clear violation of international law” and urged an immediate halt to both executions and corporal punishment in the country.
These latest executions bring the total number carried out by the Taliban under its strict interpretation of Islamic law to ten since its takeover nearly four years ago. Past public executions have occurred in provinces including Paktia, Ghazni, Laghman, Jowzjan, and Farah, all under Qisas, or “retribution in kind.”
Despite early promises of a more moderate approach, the Taliban has reintroduced the same brutal tactics it used during its rule in the late 1990s. Public floggings, stonings, and executions have become increasingly common. Hundreds of people—including women and LGBTQ+ individuals—have been publicly flogged over the past four years.
The United Nations, human rights organizations, and activists have strongly condemned the Taliban’s use of public punishment, calling it “inconsistent with the fundamental right to life” and “a form of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.”
They have also raised concerns about the lack of due process in Taliban-run courts, where defendants are often denied legal representation and basic rights.
Rights groups continue to urge the international community and the UN to apply greater pressure on the Taliban to halt such practices and to uphold international human rights norms.
Despite international outcry, the Taliban leadership has remained resolute. Supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has repeatedly said that the regime is implementing Sharia law and will continue with executions and corporal punishments.
