Taliban have publicly flogged six men and four women across Kabul, Khost and Laghman provinces as part of an ongoing series of corporal punishments.
The public floggings come amid mounting international condemnation of the Taliban’s practices.
In Kabul, a Taliban-run court in District 4 sentenced two men and two women to lashes for allegedly engaging in illicit relationships, according to a Taliban statement.
Two of the individuals received 30 lashes each and were sentenced to two years in prison, while the remaining two were lashed 35 times and sentenced to one and a half years in prison.
In Laghman Province, four individuals, including two women, were publicly flogged on charges of theft, “immoral relations,” and running away from home. One woman was lashed 39 times and sentenced to three years in prison; the other received the same number of lashes but was given a six-month prison term. The two men were also flogged, with one receiving 39 lashes and a three-year sentence, while the other was lashed 30 times and sentenced to two years in prison.
In Khost Province, Taliban stated that two men were flogged on charges of “sodomy,” with each receiving 39 lashes. One man was sentenced to three years in prison, and the other to four years.
In the past three weeks, Taliban have publicly flogged over 35 people on various charges across several provinces, according to Taliban reports.
Last week, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution condemning these punishments, stating they violate fundamental human rights. Numerous human rights organizations have echoed this condemnation, asserting that such practices are contrary to human dignity and international human rights standards.
