KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban publicly flogged 34 individuals in western Khost province on Sunday, the group’s supreme court announced, marking the latest in a series of corporal punishments under their rule.
According to the court, the punishments were carried out in the presence of local Taliban officials and a large crowd. Each person received between 10 and 39 lashes and prison terms ranging from one to seven years for charges of drug trafficking and “forgery.”
Public flogging has become a common practice in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. In recent years, hundreds of people, including women, children, and LGBTQ+ Afghans, have been subjected to such punishments for offenses ranging from theft and drug-related crimes to acts the group classifies as “immoral behavior.”
A recent report by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) documented at least 242 people publicly flogged across the country between July and September this year. The victims included 48 women, one boy, and two girls.
International organizations and activists have repeatedly condemned such punishments as “inhuman and degrading,” urging the Taliban to cease carrying them out.
The group, however, defends the measures as enforcement of Islamic Sharia law and accuses international critics of interfering in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.
