Afghanistan Times
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Kabul — United Nations human rights experts on Thursday called on Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities to immediately impose a moratorium on capital and corporal punishment, following a string of public executions carried out across the country on April 11.
The Taliban’s de facto Supreme Court announced four public executions in the provinces of Badghis, Nimroz, and Farah. In response, UN experts described the executions as a deeply troubling escalation, stating, “Friday’s executions represent a worrying increase in this kind of punishment. We urge the Taliban to introduce an immediate moratorium on the death penalty, with a view to its abolition.”
The experts strongly condemned public executions, calling them a fundamental violation of human dignity and the right to life. “Turning executions into public events can never be justified—not even on religious grounds,” the experts said. “It normalizes brutality, desensitizes communities to violence, and creates a climate of fear and intimidation.”
The UN cited international legal standards prohibiting such practices, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture. The Committee on the Rights of the Child, in a 2006 decision, rejected the use of religious law as a justification for corporal punishment such as stoning or amputation, deeming them incompatible with the right to dignity and freedom of religion.
According to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), corporal punishments carried out by the Taliban include between 30 to 39 lashes per person, with some cases reaching up to 100 lashes. UNAMA also documented the public flogging of more than 60 people in June 2024 in Sari Pul province, following convictions for offenses such as theft, sodomy, and “immoral” relationships.
UN experts further raised alarm over the Taliban’s judicial process and the lack of access to fair trials. The broader human rights situation in Afghanistan remains dire, with international bodies repeatedly denouncing systemic abuses, particularly the institutionalized repression of women and girls under Taliban rule.
The United Nations has reiterated its call for the protection of fundamental rights and adherence to international human rights law in Afghanistan.
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