The Taliban publicly flogged four individuals — two women and two men — in Sayed Khel district of Parwan province and Deh Bala district of Nangarhar, accusing them of “adultery and illicit relations.”
According to a statement from the Taliban-controlled Supreme Court, each of the four received 39 lashes. Additionally, one man and one woman in Parwan were sentenced to two years in prison.
The statement said that during the public punishment, Taliban judicial authorities in Parwan and Nangarhar, officials from Deh Bala and Sayed Khel districts, religious scholars, village representatives, and a large number of local residents were present.
This comes just one day after the Taliban also flogged a man and a woman in Sar-e Pul province in a public setting.
Based on findings by Amu from Taliban court statements, over the past solar month, more than 40 people have been publicly flogged across the country.
Corporal punishment by the Taliban is visibly increasing, and the Taliban leader has recently reiterated in speeches his commitment to fully and publicly implementing “hudud and qisas” (Islamic penal laws, as interpreted by the group).
Such actions by the Taliban over the past three years have been met with both domestic and international criticism, condemnation, and protest.
Furthermore, Amu’s findings indicate that in the past three years, the Taliban have flogged over 850 individuals in public, including 148 women.
