KABUL – The Taliban have publicly flogged 29 people, including six women, over the past two days in the provinces of Takhar, Kabul, Laghman, and Balkh.
According to the Taliban’s Supreme Court, 11 people, four women and seven men, were flogged on Thursday, September 11, in Takhar province on charges of “illicit relationships.” They were each sentenced to between four months and three years in prison, in addition to receiving 20 to 39 lashes.
A day earlier, the court announced that one man and one woman were flogged in Laghman, another man and woman in Balkh, and 14 men in Kabul. The individuals were accused of offenses ranging from running away from home and “moral corruption” to drug trafficking and illicit relationships. Sentences ranged from 20 to 39 lashes and prison terms of six months to seven years.
The floggings highlight the Taliban’s continued reliance on corporal punishment since returning to power in 2021. In June alone, more than 80 people, including several women, were whipped in public across multiple provinces.
The group has also revived public executions, with at least 10 men put to death in sports stadiums before large crowds after being convicted of murder.
The United Nations and human rights groups have repeatedly condemned such practices as violations of international law and human dignity, calling on the Taliban to halt corporal punishment and executions.
The Taliban, however, defend the measures as enforcement of Islamic Sharia law and accuse their critics of misrepresenting Islamic values.
