KABUL, Afghanistan — As Taliban continue corporal punishments, two men were flogged in public in Khost Province in the east of the country on charges of “sodomy”.
The men received 35 and 30 lashes respectively and were also sentenced to prison terms of two and a half years and one year, the Taliban-run supreme court said in a statement.
The punishment took place in the Zazi Maidan district of Khost, where the two men were reportedly punished in front of a public audience.
This incident adds to a recent wave of public floggings by the Taliban, with nearly 35 people having been subjected to similar punishments across various provinces in the last three weeks alone.
According to data compiled by Amu Media from Taliban statements, at least 700 people have been publicly flogged by the Taliban across Afghanistan in the past three years.
The United Nations, in its quarterly report, noted the continuation of corporal punishment by the Taliban despite international criticism.
Both the U.N. and global human rights organizations have repeatedly called on the Taliban to cease such practices, condemning them as violations of human rights standards.
