Taliban Denies Reports Of Stoning Man And Woman In Baghlan

Following the news and the reaction of human rights activists over the possible stoning of a man and a woman in Baghlan province by the Taliban, the local officials of the group denied this news.

Mustafa Hashemi, the group’s head of information and culture department in Baghlan told Afghanistan International, that these reports are not true.

On Thursday, news reports stated that the Taliban will be stoning a man and a woman in Pul-e Khumri city, the capital of Baghlan province, on charges of running away from home and having extramarital affairs.

Hashemi said, "Applying Sharia and implementing Hudud is one of the goals of Jihad and Islam, but reports of stoning in the city of Pul-e Khumri is a rumour and baseless."

He stressed that the group’s court in Baghlan does not have a case about running away from home in which a verdict has been issued.

Alam Majidi, Taliban’s governor spokesperson, also said that the news about the stoning of a man and a woman in Baghlan is not true.

On Thursday, some media outlets reported that the Taliban are going to stone a man and a woman to death on Friday, July 28, for running away from home.

Following the publication of this news, human rights activists reacted and launched a campaign on social media to stop the stoning.

During the past two years, the Taliban have publicly flogged dozens of citizens on various charges.

Last year, the group shot dead a man in the sports field in Farah Province on the charge of murder.