KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban publicly flogged 13 people, including a woman, in Kabul over the past two days for adultery and drug-related offenses, the group’s supreme court announced.
According to the court, 12 people were publicly lashed on Monday for the sale and trafficking of narcotic tablets, alcoholic beverages, methamphetamine, and hashish. Each received between 10 and 39 lashes and prison sentences ranging from seven months to two years.
In a separate case, a woman accused of adultery was publicly lashed 39 times on Sunday. She was also sentenced to two years in prison by the primary court, a sentence later confirmed by the 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 Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), at least 234 public floggings were recorded between April and June of this year, including 48 women and even one child. In June alone, more than 80 people were publicly whipped across several provinces.
Human rights groups and the UN have condemned the Taliban’s use of corporal punishment, calling it a violation of international law and human dignity. Amnesty International and others have urged the group to stop the practice and follow global human rights standards.
The Taliban defend public flogging as part of enforcing their interpretation of Islamic law and have rejected international criticism, accusing foreign governments and groups of interfering in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.
