Taliban Flog 36 People In Khost In A Single Day

According to a court statement, those punished received between 10 and 39 lashes and were also sentenced to prison terms ranging from one to two years. A primary court in Khost carried out the punishments in public on charges including the buying and selling of narcotics, extramarital relations and sexual relations between men.

On January 23, the Supreme Court said courts under its authority had flogged at least 31 people across the country over the previous week on various charges. Those punishments took place in Kabul, Faryab, Balkh, Nangarhar and Herat provinces.

The Taliban authorities have previously said that in 2025 they executed at least six people and flogged 1,118 others on various charges across Afghanistan.

The Taliban describes the flogging of individuals found guilty by its courts as the implementation of Islamic Sharia law.

Despite strong opposition from international organisations to corporal punishment and the mistreatment of detainees, the group has continued to carry out public floggings.

Human rights organisations say the Taliban’s judicial system falls short of international standards and that defendants are denied basic fair trial guarantees, including access to a defence lawyer.

The Taliban has also recently published a document titled “Penal Procedure Regulations of the Courts”, which sets out procedures based on the group’s strict interpretation of Islamic law.