KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban have publicly flogged four people, including three women, in northern Balkh and northeastern Parwan provinces, according to the group’s supreme court.
In Balkh province, two women and one man were flogged on Tuesday, June 3. They were accused of “moral corruption” and “illicit relationship” and received between 30 and 39 lashes each in front of local officials and the public.
In Parwan province, a woman accused of “adultery” was flogged 39 times on Monday, following approval from the group’s highest court.
These punishments are part of a growing trend of public floggings under Taliban rule. In May alone, at least 117 people — many of them women — were publicly flogged across Afghanistan, according to Taliban statements.
The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, has condemned the rise in such punishments and urged an immediate halt. He also warned against normalizing Taliban governance and called for protection of Afghan refugees from forced returns.
The Taliban, however, defends its actions as part of its enforcement of Islamic law, accusing critics of either misrepresenting Islam or harboring anti-Islamic bias.
