Matin Mehrab
At least 20 Taliban officials, including five acting ministers, gathered in Farah city to celebrate the public execution of a man accused of murder in the city’s sports stadium on Wednesday, December 7.
Soon after the execution, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the execution in an official statement and named 20 Taliban officials who were present during the execution. Those officials included deputy prime minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, and acting interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqan.
The executed man was Tajmir, a resident of Anjil district of Herat province. He was accused of murdering a resident of Farah province named Mustafa five years ago. The Taliban claimed that Tajmir had confessed to his crime and had been found guilty in three Taliban courts, and the final verdict was signed by the Taliban’s supreme leader. However, the Taliban did not provide information about how his case was investigated and when and how these trials were held.
A local elder in Farah tells Zan Times that while Tajmir had been imprisoned on the charge of murder, he had been released when the Taliban opened prison doors for all detainees when they took over the country. The elder, who asks not to be identified, explains that Tajmir was rearrested after Mustafa’s family submitted a complaint demanding his execution to the Taliban.
An eyewitness to Wednesday’s execution says that Mustafa’s father shot Tajmir three times in the stadium, where more than 2,000 people had gathered to watch.
“News of the upcoming execution was announced on Monday via mosques,” says the eyewitness, who also asks not to be named by Zan Times. “No one was allowed to film or take photos.”
In a tweet, the Office of the United Nations Office in Afghanistan (UNAMA) stated, “The UN strongly opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and calls on de facto authorities to establish immediate moratorium with a view to abolishing the death penalty.”
The public execution comes three weeks after the Taliban leader issued an order for the judges to implement “hudud and qisas.” In the Taliban’s interpretation, “hudud and qisas” can include lashing, amputating, and stoning to death in front of public crowds.
Since then, at least 60 people in five provinces of the country have been insulted, humiliated and whipped in public. But this is believed to be the first time that senior Taliban officials gathered to celebrate a public execution.
