KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban has publicly flogged 13 people, including two women, in Parwan and Paktia provinces on charges of “illicit relationships, drug use, and theft,” the group’s supreme court announced Tuesday.
The court said in a statement that 12 people, including two women, were flogged in Parwan on Sunday, August 24, on charges of illicit relationships and drug use and trafficking. Each received up to 39 lashes, and some were also given prison sentences of up to four years.
In Paktia, a man was punished the same day on charges of theft, receiving 30 lashes along with a six-month prison sentence.
According to the court, the punishments were carried out in front of local authorities and residents, after the sentences were approved by the Taliban’s supreme court.
Public lashings and other corporal punishments have become increasingly common in Afghanistan since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
According to the UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), at least 234 public floggings were recorded between April and June this year, including cases involving 48 women and even one child. In June alone, more than 80 people were whipped in several provinces, UNAMA said.
Human rights organizations and the United Nations have repeatedly condemned the Taliban for enforcing corporal punishment, arguing it violates international law and undermines human dignity. Amnesty International and other groups have urged the Taliban to halt the practice and comply with global human rights standards.
The Taliban, however, defend flogging and similar punishments as part of enforcing their interpretation of Islamic law. Leaders of the group have dismissed international criticism, accusing foreign governments and rights groups of hostility toward Islam and interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.
