RASC News Agency: The Taliban’s Supreme Court has announced that ten individuals were subjected to public flogging in Khost province, accused of offenses including extramarital relations, “sodomy,” and fleeing their homes. In a statement released on Thursday, January 23, the court revealed that six of the accused were sentenced to two years in prison alongside 39 lashes. The statement further disclosed that three other individuals received three-year prison sentences along with 30 to 39 lashes, while one person was sentenced to one year in prison and 39 lashes. This incident follows a similar case in Paktika province, where the Taliban sentenced two individuals to imprisonment after publicly flogging them the previous day.
It is noteworthy that the Taliban often exploit allegations such as sodomy, adultery, theft, and alleged affiliations with ISIS or resistance and freedom fronts to tarnish and eliminate their local, ethnic, linguistic, political, and ideological adversaries. These accusations are typically followed by sham trials, resulting in predetermined and harsh punishments. The Taliban’s punitive actions against Afghanistani citizens, based on various allegations, have been widely condemned by Islamic and non-Islamic organizations and states alike. Despite global denunciation, the Taliban persist in their oppressive practices, reportedly funded by Western nations, including the United States, under the pretense of maintaining stability.
Prominent Islamic scholars argue that those providing financial and political support to the Taliban are complicit in perpetuating the group’s barbarity under the guise of “Islam.” They assert that such actions aim to alienate Afghanistanis from their faith and ultimately discredit the principles of Islamic law.
