The Taliban’s Supreme Court said 18 people, including seven women, were flogged last week in Khost, Kapisa and Maidan Wardak provinces on charges such as alleged extramarital relations and fleeing their homes.
The group considers flogging part of enforcing “Islamic Sharia” for those it accuses of moral offences. Taliban-run courts issue daily rulings that frequently result in corporal punishment.
According to court statements, more than 80 men and women have been flogged across Afghanistan on various charges over the past month.
Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, recently expressed concern over the growing number of flogging sentences, warning that such punishments should not be “normalised.”
