Taliban flogged two individuals in Kabul on charges of alleged adultery, the Taliban-controlled Supreme Court said on Saturday.
According to the court’s statement, the two individuals were each subjected to 39 lashes and sentenced to three years in prison.
In a separate statement issued earlier on Saturday, the Supreme Court reported that five people, including a woman, were publicly flogged in Kapisa Province. The court did not disclose further details about the charges in that case.
Public punishments, including flogging, have become increasingly common under the Taliban’s rule as they enforce their interpretation of Islamic law. These practices, reminiscent of the Taliban’s governance in the 1990s, have drawn widespread criticism from human rights organizations, which describe them as cruel and degrading.
The international community continues to urge the Taliban to respect human rights and abandon such practices, but the group has shown little indication of altering its judicial approach.
