KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban publicly flogged two individuals in Ghazni and Kapisa provinces on Tuesday, the group’s supreme court announced, as corporal punishments continue across Afghanistan.
In Ghazni’s Jaghori district, a man accused of theft was sentenced to 39 lashes and one year of imprisonment. Meanwhile, in Hesa Aawal Kohistan district of Kapisa province, another individual received 39 lashes for allegedly engaging in an illicit relationship, with the punishment carried out in front of local authorities and a gathered public, the court said.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, public lashings and other forms of corporal punishment have become increasingly common. Human rights groups report that hundreds of individuals, including women and children, have been subjected to such penalties, often for what the Taliban classify as “moral corruption.”
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) documented at least 234 public floggings between April and June this year, including 48 women and one child. In June alone, more than 80 people were publicly whipped across several provinces.
In addition to lashings, the Taliban have resumed public executions, with at least 11 men convicted of murder executed in sports stadiums in multiple provinces, most recently in Badghis last week.
Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and the United Nations, have condemned these punishments as violations of international law and human dignity. They have called on the Taliban to halt such practices and adhere to internationally recognized human rights standards.
The Taliban maintain that flogging, other corporal punishments, and public execution are part of their implementation of Islamic law and dismiss international criticism as interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.
