Int'l Community Failing To Address Taliban Rights Abuses, Says Rights Group

In Kabul, seven people were sentenced to between 10 and 30 lashes and received additional prison terms ranging from one to five years for alleged involvement in narcotics trafficking.

Separately, in Kapisa province, one individual was sentenced to one year and six months in prison and 39 lashes on charges of “propaganda against the regime.”

Azizur Rahman Haqqani, head of the Taliban’s appellate court in Kapisa, defended the corporal punishment, stating that “discretionary punishments in Islamic Sharia are carried out not only to reform the offender but also to serve as a lesson for others.”

The public floggings come despite repeated calls from international human rights organisations urging the Taliban to end the use of corporal punishment. The group, however, maintains that such actions are part of its strict interpretation and enforcement of Islamic Sharia law.

Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban has reintroduced public punishments, including floggings and executions, drawing widespread international condemnation. Rights groups have warned that these practices violate international human rights standards and amount to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.

According to the court’s statement, seven of the accused were also sentenced to one year and eight months in prison. Six of the individuals received between 15 and 30 lashes, while the remaining seven were flogged between 10 and 25 times.

Public floggings have become a routine form of punishment under the Taliban’s justice system, drawing widespread condemnation from human rights organisations.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported in May that at least 180 people had been subjected to public punishment in various cities over a three-month period.

Since that report, dozens more individuals have been sentenced to flogging or imprisonment by Taliban courts on a range of 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.