Data compiled by Amu from Taliban statements show that nearly 140 people, including eight women, were publicly flogged across Afghanistan over the past month, raising renewed concern among human rights activists about the expanding use of corporal punishment.
The data encompasses the solar month of Jadi (Dec. 22 to Jan. 21).
The floggings took place in 17 provinces, including Parwan, Kunar, Paktia, Herat, Paktika, Maidan Wardak, Badakhshan, Balkh, Kabul, Ghazni, Kunduz, Faryab, Baghlan, Nangarhar, Takhar, Uruzgan and Khost, according to the court data.
The provinces of Kunar, Kabul, Parwan, Nangarhar and Herat recorded the highest number of cases, with 46 people flogged publicly during the month.
The Taliban said those punished had been convicted of offences including drug use and trafficking, alcohol consumption, “illicit relations”, theft and violations of private property. In several statements, the court referred to those punished as “accused”.
In one case cited by the Taliban Supreme Court, a primary court in Uruzgan province sentenced six people to flogging for theft and same-sex relations and another person for unlawfully entering a private home.
Human rights activists and legal experts say public corporal punishment violates fundamental legal principles and is used to instil fear among the population.
According to data compiled from Taliban Supreme Court statements, Taliban flogged at least 457 people during the four solar months of Mizan, Aqrab, Qaws and Jadi.
The United Nations has repeatedly called on the Taliban to immediately halt public corporal punishment, describing it as cruel and inhuman. The Taliban have rejected those calls, and court data indicates that the number of such punishments has continued to rise in recent months.
The Taliban say their judicial system is based on their interpretation of Islamic law.
