Taliban Flogs 9 Convicts In Football Stadium As Reports Of Hand-Chopping Angers Human Rights Activists

Disregarding severe international criticism for human rights violations, the Taliban continued to torture and flog petty criminals in Afghanistan.

What Happened: The Taliban publicly flogged nine convicted of robbery and sodomy in Kandahar on Tuesday amid reports that it also chopped off the hands of four others. 

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The Supreme Court said in a statement that nine people were punished in Ahmad Shahi Stadium in Kandahar on Tuesday on charges of robbery. The spokesman for the provincial governor, Haji Zaid, said the men were lashed 35-39 times in the presence of local authorities and Kandahar residents.

Shabnam Nasimi, the former Policy Advisor to Minister for Afghan Resettlement & Minister for Refugees in the U.K., said the Taliban also reportedly cut off the hands of four people in Kandahar.

"The Taliban have reportedly cut off the hands of 4 people in a football stadium in Kandahar today, accused of theft, in front of spectators. People are being lashed, amputated & executed in Afghanistan, without fair trial and due process. This is a human rights violation," she tweeted.

The Taliban has turned a blind eye to calls from international groups and organizations over such actions, instead following a decree by its supreme leader.
Last month, a group of independent U.N. human rights experts also expressed their concerns about public execution and flogging in Afghanistan. They called on the de facto authorities to immediately halt all forms of severe, cruel and degrading punishments.

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