Taliban have publicly flogged at least 31 people, including two women, over the past five days in four provinces, according to statements released by the Taliban-run Supreme Court.
The punishments, carried out between May 22 and May 26, took place in the provinces of Kabul, Laghman, Paktia, and Badakhshan. The individuals were accused of offenses including adultery, fleeing from home, aiding in escape, theft and same-sex relations, the court said. Each person received between 10 and 39 lashes and was sentenced to prison terms ranging from seven months to three years.
The floggings are part of a broader pattern. From April 20 to May 20, the Taliban flogged at least 81 people, including 15 women, in public across more than 14 provinces.
Human rights organizations have condemned the continued use of corporal punishment by the Taliban, calling it a violation of international law and a breach of basic human dignity. Afghan citizens, too, have voiced outrage, describing the punishments as “cruel and inhumane.”
Taliban have defended the floggings, claiming they are legal under their interpretation of Islamic law. Those punished were accused of offenses ranging from theft and illicit relationships to drug-related crimes and “immoral conduct.”
In addition to floggings, Taliban carried out four executions in the provinces of Farah, Nimruz and Badghis in April under the principle of qisas, or retributive justice — a move that also sparked widespread international criticism.
