Taliban publicly flogged nine individuals in Khost province on charges of theft, adultery, forgery, bribery and alcohol sales on Thursday.
According to a statement from the Taliban-run Supreme Court, two individuals received 39 lashes and were sentenced to 18 months in prison, another received 39 lashes and a three-year prison term.
Moreover, one individual was flogged 35 times and sentenced to one year in prison, while two others received 39 lashes each and also one-year sentences.
Another was lashed 39 times and sentenced to two years in prison, and one received 35 lashes and a six-month sentence. The ninth individual was flogged 39 times, the statement said.
In less than three years after seizing power, Taliban has continued public floggings across Afghanistan. In two weeks early in July, they flogged over 40 people in public.
Human rights organizations and international bodies, including the United Nations, have repeatedly criticized the Taliban’s methods of punishment. They have highlighted the lack of legal representation and disregard for legal standards in these proceedings.
The U.S. State Department, in its annual report on human rights in Afghanistan, described the Taliban’s punishment methods as “unethical” and called for their immediate cessation.
Findings by Amu indicate that Taliban has publicly flogged 597 individuals, including 106 women, across the country over the past three years.
