Taliban have publicly flogged 72 people in 17 provinces over the past two months, according to data collected by Amu.
The data was collected from Taliban-run supreme court statements from April 1 to May 25.
The individuals were punished for alleged crimes including robbery, moral corruption and fleeing from home.
According to Amu’s findings, the provinces of Khost, Paktika, Kandahar, Ghazni, Nimroz, Zabul, Jawzjan, Kabul, Faryab, and Badakhshan recorded the highest number of flogging sentences during this period.
Taliban-run Supreme Court cited crimes such as robbery, moral corruption, running away from home and exploitation as reasons for the floggings.
Khost province had the highest number of flogging sentences during this period, with at least 15 individuals publicly lashed on charges of robbery, sodomy, and adultery between April 1 and 30.
Reports from the Taliban-run Supreme Court indicate that the southern and southeastern provinces of Afghanistan have had the highest number of flogging sentences compared to the northern, central, and western provinces.
People criticized the Taliban’s approach, offering different narratives about their behavior.
“Taliban flog men and women in public in all provinces of Afghanistan. Sports fields have turned into places for flogging, and the world should not remain silent about all this,” said Sabira Ahmadi, a resident of Kabul.
“Taliban today are no different from before. They flog people, prevent education and impose whatever they want on people by force. People should not remain silent in the face of all this oppression,” said Mohammad Maqim, a resident of Balkh.
Human rights activists consider Taliban’s policies to be in contrast with human rights norms.
“Taliban have no definition of justice and impose whatever they want on the people of Afghanistan in the name of Sharia,” said Maryam Marouf Arwin, a women’s rights activist.
Analysts criticised the Taliban’s judicial structures and the implementation of their rulings, believing that their judgments in criminal matters are not law-based.
Taliban has previously carried out five executions, which also sparked strong reactions from human rights defenders.
Taliban started public corporal punishments in December 2022 when their leader issued a decree in this regards. Since then, hundreds of individuals have been lashed in public in various provinces.
Taliban’s response has consistently been that the rights of all citizens are ensured within the framework of Sharia and that others should not interfere in their internal affairs.
