KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and Amnesty International have condemned the Taliban’s latest public executions and urged an immediate halt to the use of capital punishment in the country.
On Friday, the Taliban carried out the public execution of four men convicted of murder in the western provinces of Badghis, Nimruz, and Farah. The incidents mark the tenth recorded instance of capital punishment since the group’s return to power in August 2021.
In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), UNAMA reiterated its opposition to the death penalty, describing it as incompatible with the fundamental right to life. The mission called for an “immediate moratorium on the death penalty as a step towards its abolition.”
Amnesty International also denounced the executions, describing them as “deplorable” and indicative of what it called the Taliban’s ongoing and alarming disregard for human rights in Afghanistan.
“The Taliban de facto authorities continue to flagrantly flout human rights principles with complete disregard for international human rights law,” the rights organization said. “We oppose all executions as a violation of the right to life.”
The group further criticized the public nature of the executions, calling them a “gross affront to human dignity” and a violation of global norms.
“Carrying out executions in public adds to the inherent cruelty of the death penalty and can only have a dehumanizing effect on the victim and a brutalizing effect on those who witness the executions,” the rights group said.
Amnesty International called on the international community to intensify pressure on the Taliban to end what it described as a “blatant” violation of human rights and to ensure that international safeguards are upheld in Afghanistan.
UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, also condemned the executions, calling them a “clear violation of international law.” He urged the Taliban to halt both executions and corporal punishment immediately.
The Taliban, which enforces its strict interpretation of Islamic law, has repeatedly defended its use of capital and corporal punishment. Taliban authorities argue that such measures are consistent with Sharia law and accuse critics of misrepresenting or opposing Islam.
