KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban Supreme Court has announced the public flogging of seven individuals in two provinces, marking a continued rise in the use of corporal punishment under the regime.
In a statement issued Thursday, the Taliban’s Supreme Court said four men accused of theft were flogged in front of a crowd in Ghazni province’s Jaghori district. Each received 39 lashes, with two of them sentenced to 10 years in prison and the other two handed five-year terms.
Separately, three individuals were publicly flogged in Farah province’s Bala Buluk district on Tuesday. According to the court, the group included one person accused of an “illicit relationship” and two others of theft. One received 39 lashes, while the remaining two were given 20 lashes each.
The latest incidents come amid what rights observers describe as a surge in corporal punishment under Taliban rule. Despite mounting international pressure, the group continues to enforce harsh public penalties, often without transparent legal proceedings.
Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan, documented at least 311 cases of corporal punishment in the second half of 2024—up 22 percent from the first half of the year. Among those punished were at least 47 women.
In addition to flogging, the Taliban has executed at least 10 individuals in public in recent years, with four executions carried out in three provinces on Friday, April 11.
The United Nations and human rights groups have strongly condemned these actions, calling them violations of international human rights law and demanding an immediate halt to the practice.
The Taliban, however, defends the punishments as being in line with their interpretation of Sharia law, accusing critics of misinterpreting or opposing Islam.
