Taliban publicly flogged four men and a woman in Kapisa Province on charges of alleged adultery and sodomy, according to a statement from the Taliban’s Supreme Court.
Three of the accused received 39 lashes and were sentenced to one and a half years in prison. A fourth was flogged 20 times and sentenced to one year in prison, while the fifth individual was lashed 39 times and sentenced to two years in prison. The public punishments were carried out in the presence of Taliban judicial officials.
This marks the continuation of a broader surge in public corporal punishments by the Taliban, who have intensified such practices over the past month. From October 20 to November 20, the Taliban flogged 129 individuals across Afghanistan, including 19 women, according to official reports. The provinces of Jawzjan and Khost recorded the highest number of cases, with 22 and 25 instances of flogging, respectively.
Growing human rights concerns
Human rights organizations and international watchdogs have repeatedly condemned the Taliban’s public punishments. The United Nations, in a quarterly report covering July through September, documented 111 instances of public flogging, affecting 95 men, 15 women, and one girl.
The U.N. report highlighted grave concerns over human rights abuses under the Taliban’s judicial system, which adheres to their strict interpretation of Islamic law. Despite widespread criticism, the Taliban continue to implement corporal punishment as a method of enforcing social and moral codes, drawing international condemnation and calls for an immediate halt to such practices.
