KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban publicly flogged four people, including a woman, in separate incidents in Kabul and the eastern province of Paktika on Tuesday, marking the fifth reported instance of such punishment by them on the same day.
In Kabul, a man and a woman, both accused of adultery, were lashed 39 times each in a Taliban primary court. According to a Taliban statement, both individuals were also sentenced to 18 months in prison.
In a similar incident in Paktika, two men accused of sodomy were publicly flogged. Each received 36 lashes and was sentenced to 20 months in prison, the statement said.
Taliban have intensified the use of corporal punishment in recent months. At least 90 people, including women, have reportedly been flogged in public across various provinces in the past month alone.
The United Nations, in its quarterly report covering July through September, documented 111 instances of public flogging by the Taliban across Afghanistan. This includes punishments meted out to 95 men, 15 women, and one girl. The U.N. report underscored concerns about human rights abuses under the Taliban’s interpretation of justice.
Last month, the United Nations Human Rights Council condemned the Taliban’s use of corporal punishment and called for its immediate suspension. Amnesty International has also voiced concerns, warning that the lack of judicial fairness in Taliban-run courts raises serious risks of human rights violations.
