Members of Afghanistan’s fundamentalist Taliban movement on Sunday publicly flogged 28 civilians, including five women, in front of hundreds of onlookers in Jaujzan and Kapisa provinces in the north and east of the country, respectively, in the latest lashing punishment imposed by Afghan authorities despite international criticism.
A total of 22 people, including three women, were punished at the Marshal Dostum stadium in the city of Shebergan, the capital of Jaujzan, local sources told the ‘Hasht e Subh’ newspaper on condition of anonymity.
Six others, including two women, were flogged in Sherwani market, Kapisa province.
As a rule, fundamentalists have given each convict between 30 and 50 lashes for reasons such as theft, adultery or simply running away from home.
The United Nations Office for Human Rights said in late November it was «appalled» by reports of the use of lashes as public punishment by the Taliban since their return to power in Afghanistan.
Taliban leader Mullah Hebatullah Ajundzada recently ordered Afghanistan’s judges to apply the full force of Sharia — or Islamic law — against those who commit a range of offenses that could be punishable even by public amputations or stoning for crimes such as robbery, kidnapping or sedition.
The fundamentalists have installed a government marked by a lack of women and representatives of other political and ethnic groups, while facing domestic and international criticism for limiting the rights of the population, especially women and girls.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
