The Taliban’s Supreme Court announced on Friday, 11 April 2025, that it had executed four men in public across three Afghan provinces of Farah, Badghis, and Nimroz for murder convictions, under the Islamic principle of qisas, or retribution.
The executions, approved by Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, were conducted in front of crowds, including Taliban officials, in what marks a continuation of the group’s use of capital punishment since regaining power in 2021.
In Farah province, Mohammad Sadiq was executed in a stadium in the provincial capital after being found guilty of murder. In Badghis, two men, Soleiman and Haidar, were put to death in separate incidents. Soleiman was accused of killing three people, while Haidar was also convicted of murder. In Nimroz, Abdul Qadir, a resident of the provincial capital, was executed for a similar offence.
The Taliban’s judicial process, rooted in a strict interpretation of Sharia and local customary law, has drawn widespread criticism from human rights organisations for its lack of transparency, absence of legal representation, and reports of rushed or coerced trials. Critics argue that the application of qisas, intended in Islamic jurisprudence to ensure justice and prevent tribal revenge, is undermined by opaque proceedings and inadequate evidentiary standards.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, public executions have resumed, echoing practices from their first regime (1996–2001), when punishments like executions and amputations were common. Historical cases, such as the 1999 execution of a woman named Zarmina in Kabul’s main stadium, underscored the brutality of that era.
While comprehensive data from both periods remains scarce due to restricted media access and limited official records, at least eight public executions have been documented since 2021, with rights groups suggesting the true number may be higher.
The first confirmed public execution under the current regime occurred in Farah in December 2022, followed by three executions in Ghazni and Jowzjan provinces in February 2024, and another in Paktia province in November 2024. The Taliban’s prohibition on media coverage and filming has further obscured the scale of such punishments.
International bodies, including the United Nations and Human Rights Watch, have condemned the executions as violations of human rights, calling for an end to capital punishment and urging reforms to ensure fair trials.
