The Taliban has publicly flogged five individuals, including two women, in Kunduz and Faryab provinces on charges of “moral corruption” and “running away from home,” according to a statement by the group’s Supreme Court.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Taliban Supreme Court confirmed that each of the individuals received 39 lashes in a public setting. The punishments were carried out in the presence of local officials, court staff, visitors, and members of the general public.
According to the court, a man and a woman were flogged in Kunduz, while three men and a woman underwent the same punishment in Faryab. Additionally, those punished in Kunduz were each sentenced to two years in prison, while two individuals in Faryab received one-year prison sentences.
Earlier, on Monday, the Taliban Supreme Court had also reported the public flogging of two individuals in the Chahar Asyab district of Kabul. The court claimed they had been punished for alleged “illicit relationships” and “murder.”
Despite widespread condemnation from international human rights organisations opposing torture and corporal punishment, the Taliban continues to conduct public floggings across Afghanistan. The group justifies these actions as part of enforcing the “commandments of Islamic Sharia.”
