Taliban publicly lashed seven people in Herat, including one woman

KABUL: The Taliban’s Supreme Court has announced that a woman and six men were publicly lashed in the districts of Adraskan, Pashtun Zarghun, and Shindand in Herat province for “illicit relations” and theft. In a statement released today, the court indicated that these individuals were punished in front of the public on January 12, 13, and 14, based on court rulings. According to the Taliban’s Supreme Court statement, each individual received a sentence of one year in prison and between 30 and 39 lashes. Just yesterday, the Taliban also publicly lashed nine others in two provinces of the country. Despite international human rights documents and conventions categorically prohibiting torture and corporal punishment as violations of human dignity, the Taliban have consistently emphasized the implementation of such penalties over the past four years and have applied them widely throughout Afghanistan.