RASC News Agency: In a continued display of corporal punishment, the Taliban have publicly flogged eight men and five women in Jawzjan, a northern province of Afghanistan. According to a statement issued by the Taliban governor’s press office in Jawzjan, the sentencing was carried out in the presence of several senior Taliban officials. Each individual received between 29 and 39 lashes, as dictated by the ruling of the Taliban court. The Taliban have yet to disclose specific details regarding the charges against those punished. However, Abdul Ghani Saeed, the head of the Taliban’s appellate courts in Jawzjan, defended the sentencing, stating: “The enforcement of hudud, qisas, and ta’zir laws preserves the rights of the people and prevents disorder and moral corruption within society.”
The Taliban have consistently asserted that their primary objective since reclaiming power has been the strict implementation of Islamic Sharia law. This latest episode of public punishment follows a statement by Richard Bennett, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, who, during a session of the UN Human Rights Council, revealed that in recent months, the Taliban have subjected at least 128 individuals, including 27 women, to public flogging. Bennett underscored that many of these individuals endure corporal punishment more frequently than imprisonment.
Reports indicate that over the past month alone, the Taliban have whipped more than 100 individuals, including women, across multiple provinces on various charges. While the group continues to impose severe penalties on Afghanistani citizens publicly punishing and shaming them its own members, despite facing documented accusations, remain shielded from accountability. No legal proceedings or punitive measures have been taken against Taliban affiliates, raising serious concerns about selective justice and the true application of Sharia under their rule.
