Taliban Increases Public Floggings in Afghanistan at Start of New Year
With the beginning of the new calendar year, the Taliban administration in Afghanistan has intensified public corporal punishments and floggings. According to official statistics from the Taliban Supreme Court, 37 citizens were subjected to corporal punishment in ten provinces across the country in less than a week.
Official statements indicate that these sentences were carried out in the provinces of Balkh, Uruzgan, Nangarhar, Khost, Ghazni, Kabul, Parwan, Kunar, Paktia, and Herat. The accused faced charges including the sale of alcoholic beverages, theft, adultery, sodomy, and counterfeiting. Among these, Parwan, Herat, and Uruzgan provinces recorded the highest number of floggings.
Some human rights activists have expressed concern over this trend, stating that the Taliban administration’s expansion of public corporal punishment aims to instill fear and terror within society. They warn that such an approach may normalize violence and undermine human dignity in the country.
An analysis of the Taliban Supreme Court data reveals that the frequency of floggings increased steadily during the months of Mehr, Aban, and Azar as well. Specifically, 71 individuals were flogged in Mehr, 100 in Aban, and 147 in Azar. Additionally, in Azar, one person was executed by Qisas in the stadium of Khost province, an event witnessed by thousands of residents, including children, which sparked widespread negative reactions.
