KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban publicly flogged 20 people in Kabul on Thursday after convicting them of selling and trafficking narcotic tablets, alcoholic beverages, and hashish, the group’s supreme court said.
In a statement posted on X, the court said each individual received between 20 and 39 lashes and prison terms of up to two and a half years. The punishments were implemented after approval by the Taliban’s highest judicial authority.
Public lashings and other forms of corporal punishment have become increasingly common in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Hundreds of people, including women, children and LGBTQ+ Afghans, have been flogged in recent years for offenses such as theft, drug related offenses, and what the group calls “immoral crimes.”
According to a recent report by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), at least 242 people – including 48 women, one boy, and two girls – were publicly flogged across the country between July and September this year.
The UN, rights organizations, and activists have condemned such punishments, arguing that they violate global human rights standards and basic human dignity. They have repeatedly urged the Taliban to halt what they call “inhuman and degrading” practices.
The Taliban, however, defend the measures as enforcement of Islamic Sharia law and accuse their critics of misrepresenting Islamic values.
