UN Special Rapporteur Urges Taliban to Halt Public Executions in Afghanistan
Richard Bennett, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, has called for an immediate halt to executions in the country following the Taliban’s announcement that a man would be publicly executed in Khost province.
In a message posted Tuesday, December 1, on his official account on the social media platform X, Bennett said he had received reports indicating that an execution in Khost was imminent. He expressed deep concern over the continuation of such practices.
Bennett stressed that public executions carried out by the Taliban are inhumane, cruel, and a blatant violation of international human rights law. He warned that the continuation of such actions would further worsen the human rights situation in Afghanistan.
The Taliban’s local administration in Khost had earlier announced that an Afghan citizen, convicted of murder and sentenced under the principle of ‘qisas’ (retributive justice), would be executed in the presence of the public.
Numerous international organizations, including the United Nations, have repeatedly urged the Taliban to align their judicial processes with human rights standards. However, the Taliban continues to carry out severe punishments such as executions, often without granting the accused access to legal counsel or ensuring transparent judicial procedures.
