Taliban Flog Man & Woman In Baghlan For Extramarital Relations

The arrests took place on Thursday, as residents marked the 106th anniversary of Afghanistan’s independence. Participants had also displayed a portrait of King Amanullah Khan, who is remembered for securing the country’s sovereignty from Britain in 1919.

According to sources, Taliban intelligence forces detained several of the youths for posting photos of the national flag on social media.

A Kandahar resident, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “Our youths had done nothing hostile. They only raised the flag that symbolises Independence Day. The Taliban arrested them as if they had committed a grave crime.”

Witnesses said Taliban agents accused the detainees of being “agents of infidels” and “hypocrites” during the arrests. Some of the youths were later released after their families provided written guarantees, but others remain in custody, sources said.

Since seizing power in August 2021, the Taliban have annulled Afghanistan’s 2004 constitution, which recognised the tricolour with the state emblem as the official national flag. The group has replaced it with its white banner, which it has raised across government institutions.

Over the past four years, the Taliban have also removed images of King Amanullah Khan from public spaces and repeatedly detained young people for displaying the former national flag at public events.

Separately, the human rights agency Haalvsh reported that at least seven Afghans were transferred to solitary confinement in Bandar Abbas Central Prison on Sunday, apparently ahead of their executions. Families have not been informed of the timing or whether they will be granted a final visit.

Two of those facing imminent execution were identified as Abdulrouf Noorzai from Nimruz Province and Abdulrahman Ishaqzai from Farah Province. No information has been released on the remaining five. Iranian authorities have not commented on the cases or the charges.

Rights groups say Afghan prisoners in Iran are frequently convicted of drug trafficking in unfair trials, often without adequate legal defence or due process.

Iran Human Rights reported last November that executions of Afghans had surged following the Taliban’s return to power. At least 80 Afghan nationals were executed in 2024; triple the number in 2023.

A local Taliban court sentenced each defendant to 39 lashes and prison terms ranging from one to three years, according to a statement issued this week.

The court did not specify whether the floggings were carried out publicly. The Taliban frequently conduct such punishments before crowds, describing them as the enforcement of Islamic Sharia law.

Despite condemnation from international human rights groups, the Taliban continue to impose corporal punishment across Afghanistan.

They are accused of offences such as “running away from home, phone contact, and assault.” The punishments ranged from 25 to 39 lashes and eight months to three years in prison.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the court said 21 people, including four women, in Gosfandi district, Sar-e Pul, were sentenced to eight months to three years in prison and 25 to 39 lashes.

In Alishang district, Laghman, three people, including one woman, were given prison terms of one to 1.5 years and 30 to 39 public lashes.

The Taliban have recently stepped up the use of corporal punishment. In the past day alone, they flogged 16 people in Kabul and three others in Khost and Paktia provinces.

Figures from the Taliban Supreme Court indicate that in the past month, the group has publicly punished more than 100 men and women across Afghanistan.

Despite repeated calls from international organisations to end corporal punishment, the Taliban continue to arrest and flog citizens on various charges, describing such actions as part of the “implementation of Islamic Sharia rulings.”

The group sentenced them to between 30 and 39 lashes and one to three years in prison.

In a statement on Wednesday, the court said a primary court in Alisher district, Khost, punished two individuals for murder and extramarital sex, giving each 39 lashes and a three-year prison term.

In a separate statement, the Taliban said another person in Zadran district, Paktia, was convicted of murder and sentenced to 30 lashes and one year in prison.

According to the court, the punishments were carried out in the presence of local officials, court staff and visitors, Taliban fighters, and ordinary citizens.

The floggings came a day after the Taliban punished 16 people in Kabul for allegedly selling alcohol and narcotic tablets. Despite opposition from international organisations to corporal punishment, the Taliban continue to administer public lashings, calling them an “order of Islamic Sharia.”