Taliban publicly flogged three men and a woman in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar Province on Tuesday, charging them with illicit relationships and fleeing from home, the Taliban-run Supreme Court announced.
The ruling was handed down by the appeals court in Kooz Kunar district, according to a statement from the Supreme Court.
Latifullah Stanekzai, the head of the Taliban’s local court, presided over the event, joined by several local officials, including the deputy district governor, the intelligence director, and the police chief, according to Taliban statement.
Each individual received 39 lashes in front of a crowd, the court statement said.
This incident is part of a broader pattern of corporal punishment under the Taliban, who have publicly flogged at least 80 people in the last four weeks, including four people lashed on Monday, October 28.
Last month, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution condemning the Taliban’s use of corporal punishment, urging an immediate end to the practice. Amnesty International also expressed grave concerns, citing the Taliban’s lack of fair trial standards and calling the judicial procedures deeply problematic.
