Taliban Publicly Flogs Individual In Maidan Wardak Province
The Taliban’s Supreme Court announced on Wednesday that an individual in Maidan Wardak province was publicly flogged in the presence of several judges and Taliban officials.
The Taliban’s Supreme Court announced on Wednesday that an individual in Maidan Wardak province was publicly flogged in the presence of several judges and Taliban officials.
The individual, who had been accused of “theft”, received 39 lashes.
The group has not disclosed the identity of this individual and stated that his sentence was carried out in Saydabad district of Maidan Wardak province.
The Taliban lashes a number of citizens each week on various charges.
In the past week, the group publicly flogged at least five individuals in the Zabul and Nangarhar provinces.
Human rights defenders and the international community have repeatedly urged Taliban leaders to cease physical punishments, but the group claims that it punishes accused citizens according to "Islamic laws”.
The Head of the General Department for Foreign Nationals and Migrants in Tehran, Ehsan Heidari, has reported a significant increase in the deportation of illegal Afghan migrants within the province.
Heidari disclosed that during Nowruz 1403, over 8,000 illegal Afghan migrants were arrested in parks and subsequently sent to deportation camps.
The Young Journalists Club news agency reported on Tuesday that Heidari emphasised on his department's commitment to continue the crackdown on illegal Afghan migrants in Tehran until every last one has been deported.
Additionally, the head of the department highlighted that during Nowruz 1402, more than 7,000 Afghan migrants were similarly detained in recreational parks and deported to Afghanistan.
In recent months, the Islamic Republic has intensified its efforts to arrest and deport Afghan migrants, resulting in the daily forced expulsion of dozens of individuals from Iran.
The Afghanistan Journalists Centre (AFJC) has demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Habib-ur-Rahman Taseer, a journalist working for Radio Free Europe in Afghanistan.
The AFJC revealed in a statement that Taseer was arrested by the Taliban's intelligence agency on April 7 in Ghazni city, and he has been imprisoned ever since.
During his arrest, Taliban’s intelligence agents confiscated Taseer's personal items, including his smartphone. The statement further explained that Taseer faces charges for producing certain local reports for Radio Free Europe, although the specific content of these reports was not disclosed.
A local source in Ghazni informed the centre that Taseer was moved from Taliban’s intelligence detention to prison three days ago, and his case has now been sent to the group’s court.
The centre also noted that Taseer had been experiencing pressure from the Taliban prior to his arrest, and his name had been removed from the local journalist registry.
Expressing serious concerns over the journalist’s arrest and continued detention, the Afghanistan Journalists Centre strongly urged the Taliban to release him promptly.
As of now, Radio Free Europe has not issued an official statement regarding the arrest.
Radio Free Europe, based in the Czech Republic, produces and broadcasts content targeted at audiences in Afghanistan.
Following accusations of "propaganda against the Taliban," the Taliban discontinued the radio frequency of this media outlet in December 2022 and subsequently blocked its website in Afghanistan two months later.
The Afghanistan Journalists Centre reports that currently, at least three journalists are in Taliban custody.
The centre’s records show that in 2023 alone, at least 59 journalists and media workers were detained in Afghanistan.
Nooruddin Azizi, the Taliban's Minister of Industry and Commerce, has said that Afghanistan's products are finding a good market in Middle Eastern countries, attributing it to the group's economic policies.
Azizi highlighted that positive trade relations with neighbouring countries have contributed to maintaining stable prices within Afghanistan despite the closure of certain trade routes.
During a meeting with Maulawi Abdul Kabir, the deputy prime minister for political affairs of the Taliban, the Taliban's Minister of Commerce claimed that due to the "good economic policies" of the group, exports and imports with regional countries have expanded.
This comes as the Taliban's Ministry of Industry and Commerce announced in March that Afghanistan's exports had decreased by six percent compared to the previous year.
The Taliban wrote that Abdul Kabir appreciated the efforts of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, stating that the efforts of the Taliban and the stability of the Afghan currency had kept the prices of raw materials in Afghanistan in a "suitable condition”.
Along with sending images and videos to Afghanistan International, residents of Parwan reported the presence of an unmanned aircraft in the skies of this province.
It is not yet clear which country this drone belongs to. In recent days, drone flights have been spotted in several provinces of the country.
A resident of Parwan province said that the drone was spotted around 9 am on Wednesday.
The Taliban have not commented on this matter so far, but in the past, this group has accused the United States of violating Afghanistan's airspace.
In recent days, residents of the provinces of Badakhshan, Panjshir, Kunar, and Laghman have also reported to Afghanistan International that drones have been seen in the skies of these provinces.
In several cases, these drones have also been spotted in Kandahar province. On April 2, sources reported that unmanned aircraft spent several hours hovering over the office of Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the leader of the Taliban in Kandahar. According to the sources, the drone surveillance made the Taliban concerned and forced them to change their leader's location.
In response to these drone surveillances, the Taliban spokesperson accused the United States of "violating" Afghanistan's airspace.
Earlier, sources also informed Afghanistan International that a drone strike in Giru district of Ghazni province, resulted in the death of 12 people.
However, the Taliban had claimed that this incident was caused by the explosion of a mortar shell, in which, according to them, five women and four children were killed.
Afghanistan International sources rejected the Taliban's statement and said that the incident was due to drone attack, in which 12 people, including three employees of the Ministry of Mines, including Matiullah Bakhtzoi's son, a member of the ministry's evaluation commission, two Taliban members, four women, and three children, were killed.
Senior Taliban officials, including the Defence Minister and the Chief of Staff, have repeatedly stated that Afghanistan's airspace is still under the "occupation" of the United States.
Habiburrahman Hekmatyar, the son of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of Afghanistan's Hezb-e-Islami party, has stated that the Taliban shut down Barya TV, associated with Hekmatyar’s party, because it raised issues and topics that the Taliban do not observe.
He mentioned on X social media platform that Barya TV’s broadcasts were "religious and Islamic," but the Taliban objected to its content.
The Taliban's media violations investigation commission announced on Tuesday that the broadcasts of "Noor" and "Barya" TV channels have been temporarily halted due to their failure to uphold "national and Islamic principles and values”.
Noor TV is owned by Salahuddin Rabbani, leader of the Jamiat-e-Islami Party, and was established in Kabul in 2007.
Barya TV, affiliated with Hezb-e-Islami, commenced broadcasting five years ago in 2019, also in Kabul. This channel typically airs speeches by Hekmatyar and news related to the party.
Recently, critical comments by Hekmatyar regarding the Taliban were broadcasted on Barya TV, drawing attention in media and social networks.
In response to the Taliban's decision on Tuesday, Habiburrahman Hekmatyar expressed his views. He stated that the Taliban objected to the "religious and Islamic" content aired on Barya TV because it espoused values different from those of the Taliban.
He remarked that the Taliban are promoting their own interpretation of religion, which, in his view, is accompanied by "superstitions”. Hekmatyar's son further noted that their [Hezb-e-Islami] interpretation of religion, advocates for "consultation, rights, education, and knowledge”.
He wrote, "Religion regards the ruler as a servant accountable to the people; it dictates that the leader must be visible among the populace, accountable to them, and transparent in managing Bayt al-mal [public wealth], which are to be audited by the people."
Hekmatyar's son says that the Taliban disregard these principles. He said that the party-affiliated television prioritises religious and national values, not those of the Taliban.
Following the Taliban's takeover of power in Afghanistan in 2021, numerous media outlets ceased operations, leading to the unemployment or migration of thousands of journalists.
Nai, an organisation advocating for press freedom in Afghanistan, disclosed last year that after the Taliban's takeover, 52% of the country's visual media outlets stopped operating.
Reports indicate that the Taliban have arrested scores of journalists in the past nearly three years and have severely restricted the media's freedom to operate.