Amnesty International Calls On Taliban To Abolish Death Penalty & Halt Executions

Amnesty International has called on the Taliban to abolish the death penalty and stop all executions.

The organisation opposes all forms of execution as it violates the right to life. Amnesty International has described the Taliban's practice of public executions as a gross affront to human dignity.

The human rights organisation stated that the death penalty is a violation of international laws and standards and is intolerable.

Amnesty International has urged the Taliban to abolish the death penalty and other cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishments.

In a statement released on Friday, February 23, the organisation mentioned that public executions add to the inherent injustice of the death penalty and can only have an inhumane effect on the victim and a brutalising effect on those who witness the execution.

This statement was published a day after the Taliban's Supreme Court announced on Thursday, February 22, that two men were executed in a stadium in Ghazni province, with the approval of Hibatullah Akhundzada, the group's leader, on murder charges.

Eyewitnesses told Afghanistan International that the Taliban shot these two individuals at a stadium in the centre of Ghazni city.

Amnesty International supports the right to a fair trial for the accused and said that the violation of fair trial principles in Taliban courts is concerning.

The organisation stated that it is time for the international community and the United Nations to pressurise the Taliban for their blatant violation of human rights and ensure compliance with international laws in Afghanistan.

Previously, the United Nations had also opposed the death penalty and urged the Taliban to abolish execution sentences.