RASC News Agency: The Taliban’s Supreme Court has announced that four individuals, including a woman, were publicly flogged in Kunduz and Paktia provinces. According to the statement, a man and a woman were punished on Wednesday, January 1st, in the Qala-i-Zal district of Kunduz on charges of “running away from home.” The preliminary court in Qala-i-Zal had sentenced both individuals to 25 lashes and four months of imprisonment. In a separate statement, the Supreme Court revealed that two other individuals were publicly flogged in Paktia province for alleged theft.
The Criminal Division of Paktia’s preliminary court had earlier sentenced these individuals to 39 lashes and two years of imprisonment. Since their return to power, the Taliban have repeatedly subjected accused individuals to public punishments, including executions. On multiple occasions, the group has carried out public executions, with six individuals reportedly executed in the presence of onlookers. Local reports indicate that many of those punished by the Taliban are accused without credible evidence. Arbitrary arrests and punishments are often based on unsubstantiated suspicions or fabricated allegations.
These punitive measures predominantly target ordinary citizens, many of whom fall victim to the Taliban’s ethnic and retaliatory policies. However, over the past two and a half years, not a single member of the Taliban has faced similar punishments, even when caught engaging in acts such as drinking alcohol or adultery. This glaring disparity has led citizens to assert that the Taliban’s enforcement of Sharia law is selectively applied, targeting the general populace while shielding the group’s members from accountability.
