KABUL: The Taliban publicly flogged nine individuals in Khost province of Afghanistan on Thursday for offenses including theft, forgery, adultery, bribery, and alcohol sales.
According to a statement from the Supreme Court of Afghanistan, the punishments were as follows: two individuals received 39 lashes each and were sentenced to 18 months in prison; another was lashed 39 times and given a three-year jail term.
Furthermore, one person was flogged 35 times and sentenced to one year in jail, while two others each received 39 lashes and one-year prison sentences. One individual faced 39 lashes and a two-year prison term, another was lashed 35 times and given a six-month jail sentence, and the ninth person was flogged 39 times with no further prison term specified.
Since taking power less than three years ago, the Taliban has continued its practice of public floggings, with over 40 people subjected to such punishments in early July alone.
International bodies and human rights organizations, including the United Nations, have condemned these methods of punishment. They have criticized the lack of due legal process and the disregard for legal rights in these proceedings. The U.S. State Department, in its annual human rights report on Afghanistan, described the Taliban’s methods as “unethical” and called for an immediate end to such practices.
