KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban have publicly flogged 12 people, including one woman, in three provinces across Afghanistan, the group’s supreme court said, as the authorities continue to enforce their strict interpretation of Islamic law.
In a statement, the court said seven people, including a woman, were publicly lashed in three districts of Herat province over the past three days. The individuals were punished for charges that included illicit relationships, sodomy, and theft. Each received up to 39 lashes and was sentenced to one year in prison, following rulings by local primary courts that were later approved by the Supreme Court.
In Kunduz province, four individuals were publicly flogged for “drinking and trafficking alcoholic beverages and sodomy.” They received between 20 and 30 lashes and prison sentences ranging from two months to two years, the court said in a separate statement.
Separately, in eastern Kunar province, a man accused of sodomy in Ghaziabad district was publicly lashed 30 times and sentenced to one year in prison, the court said.
Public corporal punishments have increased in recent months under the Taliban rule, who returned to power in 2021 and reinstated strict Sharia-based penalties across the country. Since the beginning of January, at least 70 people have been publicly flogged on various charges, including theft, adultery, and sodomy, according to the court statements.
The Taliban have also carried out at least 12 public executions for murder in recent years.
Human rights organizations and UN experts have condemned the punishments as cruel, inhuman, and degrading, saying they violate international law and fundamental human rights. They have repeatedly called on the Taliban to immediately end public floggings and executions.
Taliban officials defend the measures as consistent with their interpretation of Islamic law and necessary for maintaining social order, despite domestic and international criticism.
