Afghanistan

Afghanistan: Another public lashing, this time in Helmand

Taliban flogging some men and women in Parwan in December 2022. File photo.

As many as 12 people, including one woman, have been publicly flogged in the Nad Ali district of southern Helmand province.

Taliban information and culture directorate for Helmand said in a statement that the suspects were sentenced to lashings for robbery and moral crimes.

The Taliban on Tuesday called on the public to watch the flogging. The spectators were barred from taking videos and photos as they were ordered not to carry smartphones.

Journalists were also banned from attending the flogging, sources who witnessed the lashing told Amu TV.

The recent public punishment comes days after 22 people, including three women, were publicly whipped in the Marshal Dostum stadium in Jawzjan province of Afghanistan.

Sources told Amu TV that the suspects were whipped in front of hundreds of spectators including high-ranking Taliban officials.

A source, who witnessed the public whipping, told Amu TV that the Taliban lashed the 22 suspects, including three women, 25 to 39 times over using and distributing drugs, and robbery. He added that suspects were transferred to the Jawzjan court after receiving punishment.

The Taliban has publicly lashed more than 130 people since November 14 after their leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada ordered judges in Kandahar to implement strict Sharia law including Qisas, Hudd, and public flogging.