Taliban Flog Four People, Including Two Women, in Two Provinces

On Tuesday (April 29), the Taliban’s Supreme Court announced in two separate statements that four individuals—two women and two men—were publicly flogged in Parwan and Nangarhar provinces. The punishments were carried out on charges of “adultery” and “illicit relationships.”

According to the first statement, a man and a woman were sentenced to 39 lashes each and two years of imprisonment in Sayed Khel district of Parwan province on Sunday (April 27), after being convicted of adultery.

The second statement from the Supreme Court said that another man and woman in the Deh Bala district of Nangarhar were each sentenced to 39 lashes on the same day for engaging in “illicit relationships.” No prison sentence was mentioned in this case.

Since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021, they have repeatedly carried out corporal punishments, including public floggings and executions. At least 10 people have reportedly been executed in front of large crowds.

International organizations and human rights advocates have condemned public corporal punishment and executions as blatant violations of international law and human dignity. They have called for an immediate halt to such practices, stressing that Taliban trials, which lack fair due process standards, contribute to systematic violence, fear, and repression across Afghanistan.