RASC News Agency: In yet another display of state-enforced brutality, the Taliban have publicly flogged a woman and four men in Sar-e-Pul and Maidan Wardak provinces, accusing them of so-called “illicit relations” and “theft.” The individuals received between 25 and 39 lashes, in addition to custodial sentences ranging from one to three and a half years. According to an official statement released by the Taliban, their court in Sar-e-Pul province sentenced a woman to 39 public lashes and one year of imprisonment on charges of “illegitimate relations.” Meanwhile, in Maidan Wardak, four men accused of theft were each subjected to 25 lashes in front of a crowd. Two of the men were subsequently sentenced to three and a half years in prison, while the other two received sentences of two years and eight months.
The corporal punishments were carried out in full public view, attended by Taliban officials, government staff, court personnel, and ordinary citizens further cementing the regime’s use of fear-based tactics to impose its authority. Despite international condemnation and repeated warnings from human rights bodies, the Taliban continue to normalize public floggings and other forms of inhumane punishment, openly defying universally accepted human rights norms and legal protections. Conspicuously absent from the Taliban’s statement was any reference to fair judicial process. No details were provided regarding legal representation, the right to a defense, or independent judicial review hallmarks of a just and transparent legal system. This absence has drawn strong criticism from global human rights organizations, who have warned that the Taliban’s legal apparatus operates without legitimacy, accountability, or adherence to due process.
The public floggings reflect a broader pattern of authoritarian control and institutionalized violence. Under Taliban rule, the legal system functions as an instrument of repression rather than justice, weaponizing religious interpretation to silence dissent and instill fear across Afghanistan’s already-vulnerable population. Such spectacles of punishment not only degrade the dignity of the accused but also serve as chilling reminders of the regime’s relentless efforts to roll back fundamental rights and freedoms particularly in regions where public scrutiny is limited and local communities remain under tight Taliban control.
