URUZGAN, Afghanistan — Taliban publicly flogged 18 individuals accused of “theft and other unlawful acts” in the city of Tarinkot, the capital of Uruzgan province, on Tuesday afternoon.
Each person received between 19 and 39 lashes and was sentenced to prison terms ranging from eight months to two years, according to a statement from the Taliban-run Supreme Court.
The statement detailed that three individuals were each given 30 lashes and sentenced to 10 months in prison. Another five received 19 lashes each. Two individuals were lashed 39 times and sentenced to eight months in prison, while three others received 29 lashes each and were sentenced to two years in prison. One person was given 25 lashes and also sentenced to two years in prison. Another individual received 30 lashes and a one-year prison sentence.
The Taliban’s Department of Information and Culture in Uruzgan had announced the event a day earlier, inviting residents to gather at the city’s stadium to witness the punishment.
On the same day, the Taliban also flogged three people publicly in the provinces of Badghis and Panjshir.
Public corporal punishment by the Taliban has continued for nearly three years, during which hundreds of individuals have been flogged in various provinces.
The United Nations and human rights organizations have strongly condemned the Taliban’s use of corporal punishment.
This incident occurs in the context of the Taliban’s recent participation in a United Nations-hosted summit in Doha, where special representatives from various countries convened on Sunday and Monday. However, the summit did not address human rights or the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan.
