Taliban Publicly Flog 13 In Kabul On Drug, Gambling Charges

The men were accused of selling various illegal substances, including tablet-K, crystal methamphetamine, cannabis. The Taliban’s primary court reportedly sentenced them to between one year and two years and six months in prison.

In addition to imprisonment, each individual received between 15 and 20 lashes. The Taliban Supreme Court’s statement, released Tuesday, did not clarify whether the flogging was carried out in public, a common practice under Taliban rule.

The Taliban frequently administer public corporal punishment, claiming it serves as a deterrent and helps reduce crime. The group maintains that such practices are part of enforcing what it describes as Islamic Sharia law.

Human rights organisations and international bodies have repeatedly urged the Taliban to end the use of corporal punishment and other forms of inhumane treatment. However, the group continues to defy these calls and has intensified such actions since returning to power in 2021.

In a statement posted Monday on X, Koofi said the Taliban’s claim of amnesty is not an effort at reconciliation but a calculated effort to silence critics. She warned that those returning to Afghanistan from neighbouring countries, particularly Iran, face serious threats despite promises of safety.

Koofi criticised certain individuals, including spouses of former foreign diplomats, for promoting what she called misleading narratives that Afghanistan is now safe. Without naming anyone directly, she said some continue to benefit from their previous roles while encouraging return, which she described as playing into the Taliban’s strategy.

Her comments follow recent remarks by Cheryl Benard, the wife of former US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who called concerns about returning to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan “unfounded.” Benard had suggested Afghan parents worried about Taliban-led education could send their children to private schools and claimed that Afghan women continue to live and work normally.

Women’s rights advocates condemned those remarks, saying they contradict verified reports from international organisations and testimony from women affected by Taliban policies.

Koofi referred to a new report from the UN Human Rights Office, which confirms widespread arbitrary detention, torture, and threats to returnees, particularly those deported from Iran. She said the findings validate previous warnings from rights groups about the dangerous conditions awaiting deported Afghans.

According to a statement issued by the Taliban court on 27 July, one man received 39 lashes while the other was sentenced to 30 lashes. The punishments were carried out in the presence of local officials, including the district police chief and court attendees.

In addition to the corporal punishment, the first defendant was sentenced to ten months in prison, while the second received an eight-month prison term. The sentences were reportedly enforced following approval by the Taliban’s Supreme Court.

The Taliban did not release the identities of the individuals.

The group has continued to carry out public floggings since returning to power in 2021, describing such actions as the implementation of Islamic Sharia law. International human rights organisations have repeatedly condemned the Taliban’s use of corporal punishment, labelling it a form of torture and a violation of international law.

According to the court, the individuals were sentenced to between 25 and 39 lashes, which were carried out publicly in Qosh Tepa district and Mazar-e-Sharif city. The punishments were administered in the presence of local officials, court staff, security personnel, and members of the public.

The Taliban consider any relationship between unrelated men and women to be a punishable offence. In previous instances, individuals have been flogged for as little as phone contact between men and women.

The public punishments were authorised by the Taliban’s Supreme Court as part of the group’s enforcement of its interpretation of Sharia law. Over the past four years, the Taliban have subjected hundreds of people to corporal punishment, a practice widely condemned by human rights organisations.

The report, based on extensive interviews with detainees held between 2021 and 2024, documents severe human rights violations including the burning of bodies with heated rods, beatings with electric cables, electric shocks, and sexual assault. Many victims were arrested arbitrarily and subjected to abuse during detention.

Prepared in collaboration with the Civil Society and Human Rights Network and Human Rights Defenders Plus, the report identifies the Taliban’s intelligence directorate as the primary body responsible for the repression of opposition voices. Victims include human rights defenders, journalists, female activists, minorities, and former government employees.

The organisation noted that many of the detention facilities are unregistered and operate without independent oversight, with their locations often unknown. In 2023, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) attributed over 60 percent of documented torture cases to Taliban intelligence.

Detainees interviewed for the report described being blindfolded, transferred to undisclosed locations, and subjected to repeated acts of physical and psychological torture. Methods included beatings with water pipes and electric cables, electric shocks, simulated drowning, and burning with heated rods.

Most victims were held in small, dark solitary confinement cells, with some reporting detention lasting up to three months. The report states that psychological abuse was integral to the Taliban’s strategy, including death threats, religious and gender-based insults, intimidation, and forced confessions.

Victims also reported being denied access to healthcare, legal representation, and family visits. The report highlights that the abuse was often ideological and discriminatory in nature, targeting victims' identities and beliefs with the intent to degrade and dehumanise them.

The report further documents widespread discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities, particularly Shia Muslims and Hazaras. Detainees recounted being subjected to derogatory slurs, denied family contact, and insulted based on their ethnicity and faith throughout their detention.

Human rights groups have previously reported on similar patterns of abuse in Taliban prisons. Last week, the organisation Rawadari published its own findings, alleging that the Taliban systematically engage in physical, sexual, and psychological torture from the moment of arrest through to release, in violation of international human rights standards.