KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban’s Supreme Court has announced that eight men and one woman were publicly flogged in the provinces of Ghazni and Paktika for a range of charges, including what it described as “moral corruption” and theft.
In a statement, the court said that four people, including one woman, were whipped on Wednesday (January 14) in Deh Yak district of Ghazni. Three of them were each given 20 lashes and sentenced to one year in prison, while another person received 35 lashes and was also jailed for one year.
The Supreme Court also said that in the past two days, five other people were flogged in the Khushamand and Wazakhwa districts of Paktika province on charges including “moral corruption,” theft and homosexuality. According to the statement, they were sentenced to between 15 and 35 lashes and one to two and a half years in prison.
Since returning to power in Afghanistan, the Taliban have repeatedly carried out corporal punishment in public. At least 12 people have also been executed in public in front of large crowds, according to Taliban statements.
International human right organizations say public executions and corporal punishment violate international law and human dignity, and they have called on the Taliban to immediately end such practices.
