RASC News Agency: As Afghanistan approaches the grim milestone of four years under Taliban rule, the Islamist militia has dramatically intensified its use of public corporal punishments, notably flogging, to enforce its draconian interpretation of justice. Official data gathered from statements and bulletins issued by the Taliban Supreme Court reveal an alarming nearly fourfold increase in public flogging sentences in less than one month a stark indicator of the regime’s deepening brutality. In the most recent case, 14 individuals in Kabul and Zabul provinces were publicly flogged on charges ranging from extramarital sexual relations and theft to sodomy and narcotics trafficking.
On August 7, the Taliban Supreme Court announced that seven people in Kabul were sentenced not only to imprisonment but also to lashes for involvement in drug offenses involving substances such as “ka,” “zeekp,” hashish, and methamphetamine. In Zabul province, four individuals were flogged for sodomy and theft, while three others received between 10 and 30 lashes for illicit sexual conduct. These punishments follow a similar wave just two days prior, when ten others were publicly flogged in Kabul and Maidan Wardak provinces a trend that has sharply accelerated in recent weeks.
A thorough review of the Taliban Supreme Court’s official bulletins from the past two weeks shows that at least 53 individuals across eight provinces have been subjected to public flogging, marking a quadruple increase compared to the same timeframe last month. Kabul province tops the list with 40 cases, followed by Maidan Wardak, Baghlan, Badakhshan, Paktia, Kapisa, Balkh, and Daikundi provinces. Human rights organizations have roundly condemned these public punishments as egregious manifestations of “systematic violence” and “flagrant violations of human dignity.” They emphasize that such barbaric practices undermine any semblance of justice and flagrantly contravene international human rights norms.
Adding to the denunciations, respected Islamic scholars both inside Afghanistan and abroad have explicitly rejected the Taliban’s methods, asserting that public flogging, as conducted by the regime, lacks credible religious legitimacy. Authentic Islamic jurisprudence mandates rigorous evidentiary standards, procedural fairness, and respect for human dignity principles entirely disregarded by the Taliban’s summary and brutal approach, which serves primarily as a tool of intimidation and political control rather than justice. Despite escalating domestic and international outcry, the Taliban leadership remains unwavering in its commitment to these punitive spectacles, underscoring its continued reliance on terror and repression to maintain control. For the people of Afghanistan, this surge in public floggings is yet another harrowing symptom of a regime bent on perpetuating fear, stifling dissent, and extinguishing basic freedoms.
