KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban Supreme Court has reported the public flogging of 42 people in Farah, Jawzjan, and Balkh provinces in a single day.
The court said today (Saturday, April 18) that on Thursday, 14 people in Bala Buluk district of Farah province were flogged in public on charges of “sodomy.”
According to the statement of the Taliban Supreme Court, these individuals were given between 20 to 39 lashes.
In another statement, the Taliban Supreme Court said that on Thursday, 27 people, including two women, were flogged in public in Jawzjan province on charges of “producing, drinking, and selling alcohol, breaking the fast, mistreating parents, and adultery.”
According to the statement, these individuals were flogged between 20 to 39 lashes based on the ruling of the primary court of Jawzjan city.
The Taliban Supreme Court also said that one more person was flogged on Thursday in Balkh district of Balkh province on charges of “illicit relations” and received 39 lashes.
The flogging sentences were carried out after being approved by the Taliban’s chief justice.
Since regaining control of Afghanistan, the Taliban have repeatedly flogged accused individuals in public and have also executed 12 people in front of hundreds of spectators.
The latest floggings come amid a documented surge in such punishments. United Nations experts reported that the Taliban’s Supreme Court announced public floggings of at least 1,110 individuals in 2025, including at least 170 women — nearly double the 567 people flogged in 2024.
Early data for 2026 suggest the trend is continuing, with 162 people publicly flogged in January alone, marking one of the highest monthly totals since the practice was officially resumed in late 2022.
International human rights organizations consider executions and corporal punishment of accused individuals to be against international law and human dignity and have called for their cessation.
The Taliban enforces a strict interpretation of Islamic law and has repeatedly defended the use of corporal and capital punishment. Taliban authorities argue these measures are consistent with Sharia law and accuse critics of misrepresenting or opposing Islam.
Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban has made corporal punishment a central feature of its penal system. The punishments are often carried out for crimes the regime labels as “moral corruption,” including adultery, theft, and other violations of its strict interpretation of Islamic law. Six months ago in June last year alone, more than 80 people, including several women, were publicly whipped across multiple provinces.
This development has renewed concerns among rights groups and observers, who warn that the continued use of public corporal punishment reflects a broader pattern of restrictive judicial practices and raises serious questions about due process and the protection of fundamental human rights in Afghanistan.
