Taliban Supreme Court Announces Flogging of 16 People in Kabul

KABUL — The Taliban Supreme Court announced that 16 individuals were flogged in Kabul after conviction for selling and smuggling narcotic tablets known as Zikap, glass, alcoholic beverages and hashish.

The court stated the offenders were sentenced to prison terms ranging from seven months to three years and six months, along with 25 to 30 lashes each.

Official statistics cited by the Supreme Court indicate that at least 1,186 people have been flogged across various provinces in solar year 1404, including Kabul, Herat and Balkh. The figure excludes the last 12 days of Saratan month.

Nearly 100 women were flogged in the past eight months, the majority publicly, according to the court.

The Supreme Court reported four retribution cases carried out publicly in solar year 1404: three in Badghis, one in Farah, one in Nimroz, and one recent case in Khost stadium before thousands of spectators, including women and children.

In a separate incident in Kapisa province, an individual convicted of 'propaganda against the Taliban regime' was sentenced to 39 lashes and one year and six months imprisonment.

Human rights institutions have expressed concern over the rise in corporal and public punishments.