KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban publicly flogged 17 people in eastern Kunar province on Sunday, the group’s supreme court said, as corporal punishment intensifies across Afghanistan.
The individuals were accused of “drug use and sodomy” and received up to 39 lashes in public, along with prison sentences of up to two years, according to a court statement.
The floggings follow similar punishments carried out the previous day in Bamyan province, where two men and two women were sentenced for an “illicit relationship.” Since last Monday, at least 27 others have been publicly lashed in four other provinces for various alleged offenses.
A recent UN report recorded at least 215 cases of public corporal punishment in Afghanistan between 1 August and 31 October, including 42 women, two girls, and one boy. Those punished faced allegations ranging from adultery and fleeing homes to same-sex relations, alcohol consumption, and gambling.
Human rights groups and international organizations have condemned the practices as “cruel, inhuman, and degrading,” calling on the Taliban to halt public punishments in line with international law. The Taliban defend the practice as enforcement of Sharia law, dismissing critics as opposing Islamic principles.
