KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, condemned the Taliban’s latest public execution, urging the group to halt what he described as “inhuman and cruel” punishments.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Mr. Bennett said public executions violate international law and should be stopped. “Public executions are inhumane, a cruel and unusual punishment, and contrary to international law. It should be halted,” he wrote.
The execution took place in the main sports stadium in Khost province, where a man named Mangal was put to death after being convicted of the “intentional killing” of another man, Abdul Rahman, a local resident. According to the Taliban’s Supreme Court, Mangal, originally from Sayed Karam district in Paktia province, was arrested and tried under Taliban courts, which sentenced him to qisas, or retributive justice. The ruling was subsequently approved by Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s supreme leader.
The public execution was witnessed by senior Taliban authorities and an estimated 80,000 people, according to the governor’s office in Khost, which had earlier called on residents and local Taliban authorities to attend the event.
This marks the twelfth public execution carried out by the Taliban since their return to power in 2021. Previous executions took place in Farah, Laghman, Ghazni, Jawzjan, Baadghis, and Nimroz provinces. All the individuals executed were convicted of murder.
In addition to public executions, the Taliban have publicly flogged hundreds of people across Afghanistan in recent years, including women and members of the LGBTQ+ community, on charges ranging from theft to moral offenses.
Despite repeated appeals from the UN, human rights organizations, and activists to halt public executions and corporal punishments, the Taliban insist on continuing these practices, claiming they are enforcing Sharia law in Afghanistan and accusing international critics of interfering in the country’s internal affairs.
