Jim Risch, chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has said Taliban have approved the return of slavery in Afghanistan by endorsing a new judicial code, calling for funding to the Taliban to be cut.
He said in a post on X that the Taliban’s approval of the judicial rules marked a further regression for Afghanistan.
“The Taliban has now approved the return of slavery in Afghanistan. We must defund the Taliban,” Risch said. “Not only is it counter to US interests and an affront to all military members who served there, but the Taliban continue to slide farther backwards.”
Reviews of the Taliban’s penal code by Amu TV and legal observers say the document contains provisions that impose harsh punishments and restrict dissent. According to the text, insulting Taliban officials can be punished by 20 lashes and six months in prison, while providing shelter to opponents carries penalties of up to 39 lashes and five years’ imprisonment.
The code also prescribes prison sentences for individuals who abandon the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence, with punishments of up to two years in jail, according to the document.
Legal experts say the code imposes heavier penalties on women than men in some cases. Article 58 states that women who leave their religion and later return could face life imprisonment accompanied by corporal punishment every three days, according to analysts who have reviewed the text.
The code has also drawn criticism for provisions related to domestic violence. Under Article 32, a husband who severely beats his wife, leaving visible injuries such as bruises or fractures, would face a sentence of 15 days in prison, legal analysts said.
Human rights activists warn that the penal code reinforces patriarchy and undermines justice and fundamental rights in Afghanistan, where the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
The judicial code consists of a preamble, three sections, ten chapters and 119 articles and has been endorsed by the Taliban’s supreme leader. The Taliban have said it will be published in their official gazette.
Rights groups say the code risks institutionalising discrimination and suppressing dissent, further isolating Afghanistan internationally.
