In response to the Taliban supreme leader, Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, ordering the full implementation of “hudud and qisas punishments,” the regime has publicly flogged at least 60 people in five provinces across Afghanistan in the past two weeks, according to media reports.
In one of the most recent cases, the Taliban whipped seven people, including a woman, in the sports stadium of Firoz Koh city of Ghor province on Sunday December 4, eyewitnesses tell Zan Times.
An eyewitness who asked not to be named said that the Taliban whipped six men and a woman, all under the age of 36, for drinking alcohol or for having sex outside marriage. “The Taliban gave 39 lashes to each of the five men on the charges of drinking alcohol. Also, a woman was given 25 lashes and a man was given 35 lashes on charges of having sex.”
Another source who was present at the Taliban spectacle of public torture, confirms the account, telling Zan Times that the Taliban did not allow anyone to film and take pictures.
In a tweet, Abdulwahid Hamas, the spokesman of the Ghor governor, said that six men and one woman were whipped, but have not provided more details.
This is the fifth public flogging undertaken by the Taliban in the past two weeks. Other recent whippings include the Taliban lashing 18 people in Takhar province, a young couple in Bamyan, 12 people in Logar province and 21 people in Kabul province. The Taliban have flogged women on charges that include not having a mahram or wearing a burqa in public as well as running away from home and having sex outside of marriage. The Taliban have also flogged men for shaving their beards, listening to music, drinking alcohol, or having sex.
Since the Taliban regained power, there have been reports from across Afghanistan of the regime engaging in widespread and arbitrary torture and public floggings of men and women, some which have been posted on social media.
Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada’s recent order fully implementing the regime’s code of sharia punishments, known as “hudud and qisas.” For the Taliban, such punishments can include lashing, amputating limbs, and stoning people to death in front of public crowds. The media reports indicate that he Taliban have speeded up and expanded its public floggings in recent weeks.
The spike in public brutality by the Taliban has caused serious concern from international organizations. In a social media message posted on Saturday, December 3, UNAMA notes that Afghanistan has signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adding, “All Afghans deserve freedom, equality and dignity.”
There is no indication that the Taliban will honour Afghanistan’s commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Its supreme leader has asserted that the Taliban Emirate does not abide by any human-made laws. They only abide by sharia laws as interpreted by its own cadre of mullahs. The Taliban supreme leader also declared his decrees are also Sharia and obligation of which is must.
While Taliban’s corporal punishments have been widely condemned by human rights organizations, the regime’s spokespeople reject the criticisms, calling them “disrespect to Islam.”
