The Taliban have publicly flogged nine people, including one woman, in Kabul and Samangan provinces on charges including drug trafficking, “running away from home,” and engaging in extramarital sexual relations, the group’s judiciary announced.
According to a statement from the Taliban’s Supreme Court, the punishments were carried out following court rulings that also included prison sentences ranging from seven months to two years. The individuals received between 10 and 39 lashes each in public.
In Kabul, the Taliban’s counter-narcotics court sentenced seven people to public flogging for alleged involvement in the sale and trafficking of hashish, methamphetamine (locally known as “shisha”), alcohol, and various banned pills, including “tablet-K.”
Separately, in Samangan province, a man and a woman were flogged in the Hazrat Sultan district court after being found guilty of “running away from home” and “sexual relations outside of marriage.” The floggings were carried out in the presence of local officials, court staff, and residents, the court said.
Despite widespread international condemnation from human rights organisations over the use of corporal punishment, the Taliban continue to carry out public floggings, which they describe as enforcement of Islamic Sharia law.
