KABUL – The Taliban have publicly flogged 11 people in Afghanistan’s Kabul and Faryab provinces, the group’s Supreme Court confirmed on Sunday.
According to the court, nine people in Kabul were lashed between 10 and 39 times for alleged involvement in trafficking narcotic tablets, alcohol, and hashish. They were also sentenced to prison terms ranging from seven months to two and a half years. In Faryab’s Dawlatabad district, two men accused of theft received 36 lashes each and were handed one-year prison sentences.
The punishments come amid mounting international criticism. The United Nations and human rights groups have denounced public floggings and executions by the Taliban as violations of international law and human dignity.
Despite the condemnation, the Taliban has expanded the use of corporal punishment since regaining power in 2021. UN monitors documented 180 cases of public flogging, including of women and children, in just the past three months. The group has also carried out at least ten public executions for murder in recent years.
The Taliban insist such punishments are in line with their interpretation of Sharia law and dismiss international criticism as interference in their religious practices.
