The Taliban in Ghor province said that they arrested three young men and three women on charges of “non-observance of Sharia obligations and illicit relationships” in the past week, and that all six were flogged as punishment.
Abdulwahid Hamas, the spokesman of the Taliban in Ghor, says that a young woman and man were each sentenced to 39 lashes and jailed for “non-observance of Sharia obligations” in Dawlatyar district two days ago.
According to him, the couple were whipped in public.
Hamas did not provide an explanation as to what actions constitute “non-observance of Sharia obligations” or what led to their arrest.
Two girls and two boys were also punished similarly for the crime of “illicit relationships,” in Firozkoh, capital of Ghor, he said.
According to Hamas, those four people were arrested last week. He says that each was sentenced to 39 lashes and two months in prison, and their floggings were carried out in Firozkoh prison on Tuesday.
“The Taliban strictly monitor the movements of men and women,” a resident of Firozkoh, who did not want to be named, told Zan Times.
He added that the agents of the Taliban’s department of vice and virtue as well as the Taliban intelligence are in charge of imposing their restrictions on men’s and women’s relationship. “They beat people up and send them to jail on the slightest pretext,” he said.
Pointing out that the Taliban court sessions are held without a jury and lawyers for the accused, he said, “The sentences issued by the Taliban courts lack the justice required for a just judicial system.”
In the past year, many reports have documented the harassment of men and women by the Taliban in public places. These reports show that the Taliban arrests and imprisons women for “moral crimes” and not having a mahram, and make their release from prison conditional on marrying their gunmen.
Also, the Taliban require men and women who travel together to have identification and a marriage certificate.
