Taliban flogged 17 people, including a woman, in the provinces of Kabul and Uruzgan

The Taliban’s Supreme Court announced the public flogging of 17 individuals, including one woman, in Uruzgan and Kabul provinces.

In a statement, the court said that 15 people were publicly flogged today (Thursday, April 17) in Tarinkot city, the capital of Uruzgan, based on the ruling of the primary court.

According to the statement, five individuals were punished for theft, four for adultery, four for sodomy, and two for illicit relationships.

The Supreme Court stated that each of the convicts received 39 lashes and was also sentenced to prison terms ranging from one to three years.

Before carrying out the punishment, the Taliban’s Department of Information and Culture in Uruzgan had invited the public to attend the flogging at Tarinkot’s sports stadium.

Additionally, the Taliban Supreme Court announced in another statement that yesterday (Wednesday, April 16), a man and a woman were publicly flogged in Kabul for having an illicit relationship. They each received 39 lashes and were sentenced to one and a half years in prison.

These actions come amid a recent increase in the Taliban’s implementation of corporal punishment and public executions. Last week, the group executed four individuals publicly in the provinces of Farah, Badghis, and Nimroz.

Human rights organizations have condemned such punishments as violations of human dignity and international law, and have called for their cessation. However, the Taliban continue to enforce these punishments based on their own interpretation of Sharia law.