RASC News Agency: Local sources from Paktika have reported that the Taliban flogged an individual accused of “theft” in the province. The Taliban’s Supreme Court confirmed that, on Monday December 16, the group carried out a flogging on an individual charged with theft in Paktika. According to the Taliban, the individual was flogged in the Chabaran district of Paktika and sentenced to one year and seven months of imprisonment, in addition to 25 lashes. Previously, the Taliban had flogged two individuals in Kabul and one in Herat. Despite widespread condemnation from both Afghanistani citizens and the international community, the group continues to announce the daily implementation of corporal punishment on alleged offenders.
The international community has repeatedly called on the Taliban to end corporal punishment, yet the group remains unresponsive to these appeals. Human rights organizations have denounced the Taliban’s judicial system as substandard, pointing out that defendants are deprived of fundamental legal rights, including access to defense counsel. Numerous citizens have accused the Taliban of arbitrary arrests and subjecting individuals to flogging based on coerced confessions extracted by members of the group. They assert that the Taliban have flogged countless individuals over the past three years without providing evidence or legal justification.
In their three years of rule, the Taliban have not only flogged hundreds of people but also executed six individuals across various provinces. The group has openly committed to enforcing brutal punishments such as flogging, stoning, and execution. Earlier, the Taliban stated that they would never cease the practice of flogging individuals and, under the banner of what they term Sharia law, insist on the continued implementation of such harsh and regressive penalties.
