Taliban Publicly Flogs 10 Individuals in Khost Province

In Khost province, on Wednesday and Thursday, the Taliban publicly flogged 10 individuals.

The Taliban's Supreme Court announced that each of these individuals had been punished with 39 lashes in connection with charges such as "theft" and "moral corruption”.

The Supreme Court stated that six of the accused were sentenced to three years in prison, and two others were sentenced to two years in prison. The court added that two other defendants were sentenced to six and 15 months in prison, respectively.

Additionally, on Wednesday, the Taliban publicly flogged a person 20 times by the order of a local court in Khwaja Umari district of Ghazni province. The Taliban's Supreme Court wrote in a statement that this person was punished on charges of "theft”.

After returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban announced the rescission of all existing laws of the former Afghan government. Although the Taliban have not yet replaced the previous laws with new ones, in nearly three years of their rule in Afghanistan, they have been prosecuting criminals according to what they consider Islamic Sharia.

Human rights organisations say that the principles of fair trial are not observed in Taliban courts. These organisations have called for an immediate halt to corporal punishments in Afghanistan. However, the Taliban have responded by stating that they will continue to enforce Islamic Sharia.