KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban publicly flogged four people on theft charges in Khost, Balkh, and Ghazni provinces over the past two days, the group’s supreme court announced Sunday.
In separate statements, the court said each individual received up to 30 lashes and prison terms of up to one and a half years. The punishments were carried out in the presence of local authorities and the public after approval by the Taliban’s supreme court.
The floggings are the latest in a series of public corporal punishments that have increased in recent months under the group’s strict interpretation of Sharia law. Human rights groups and UN experts have condemned the practice as “cruel, inhuman, and degrading,” calling on the Taliban to end public floggings.
A United Nations report recorded at least 215 cases of public corporal punishment in Afghanistan between August 1 and October 31, including 42 women, two girls, and one boy. Those punished were also accused of same-sex relations, alcohol consumption, and gambling.
The Taliban defend the practice as enforcement of Islamic law and reject international criticism as interference in Sharia implementation.
