KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban publicly flogged a man and a woman in Afghanistan’s northeastern Baghlan province, accusing them of having an “illicit relationship,” the group’s supreme court announced.
In a statement, the court said the punishment was carried out on Tuesday in the presence of local Taliban officials and residents. Both individuals received 35 lashes and were also sentenced to six months in prison by the provincial court.
Public floggings have become a common practice since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021. Men, women, girls, and LGBTQ+ individuals have been subjected to such punishments for a range of alleged offenses.
Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan, recently documented at least 311 cases of corporal punishment in the second half of 2024—an increase of 22% from the first half of the year. Among them were 47 women.
The Taliban have also carried out at least ten public executions for murder in recent years.
The United Nations and international rights groups have condemned the punishments as violations of human dignity and international law. They continue to call for an immediate end to such practices.
The Taliban, however, defend the punishments as being consistent with Sharia law and accuse critics of disrespecting Islamic principles.
