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ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan&#39;s Taliban have built a nationwide system of public executions and mass floggings, carrying out corporal punishment on at least 1,200 people and executing convicted murderers in sports stadiums and provincial squares, according to official Taliban Supreme Court records and data compiled by a local news outlet.&nbsp; Public floggings rose by 92% in a single month, from March 21 to April 19, 2026, as reported by Amu TV based on Taliban court statements. At least 115 people, including 14 women, were punished across 19 provinces.&nbsp;Kabul recorded the highest single-month toll with 24 floggings, followed by Nimroz with 17, and Nangarhar and Khost with nine each. Every capital sentence requires the personal sign-off of Supreme Leader Amirul Momineen Sheikh Hibatullah Akhundzada before implementation, according to the Supreme Court&#39;s own published records. Official documents describe this final review as an act of &quot;ultimate caution.&quot; The Supreme Leader convenes a council of senior religious scholars to examine each case before issuing the execution order. Executions in stadiums and squares At least four public executions have been documented through official Taliban channels since August 2021. The first took place in Farah province in 2022-23, attended by Chief Justice Sheikh Abdul Hakim Haqqani, Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, and Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, per Supreme Court records. Two men were then executed simultaneously at the Ali Baba football stadium in Ghazni on February 21, 2024, one convicted of a knife killing, another of a separate murder, after what the Supreme Court described as &quot;full and repeated&quot; investigation. In Paktia&#39;s provincial capital, Gardez, Muhammad Ayaz was executed for killing a man with a Kalashnikov rifle. The victim&#39;s family was &quot;repeatedly offered the opportunity for forgiveness and peace&quot; but insisted on execution, per official statements. Most recently, on December 2, 2025, Mangal, son of Tala Khan, was shot in Khost&#39;s sports stadium for premeditated murder, with the court citing a Quranic verse in its official announcement. Floggings by province and offense Supreme Court records from February and March 2026 document the geographic spread of floggings. In Farah&#39;s Balabuluk district, 14 individuals received between 20 and 39 lashes each on sodomy charges, while five others, including one woman, received public punishment for &#39;illicit relations&#39; and theft. In Maidan Wardak, four people, including one woman, were publicly flogged for adultery and sodomy.&nbsp; In Kabul&#39;s Char Asiab district, two people,&nbsp;including one woman, were punished for illicit relations and fleeing home. A theft conviction in Zabul carried 39 lashes and three years in prison; another in Ghazni drew one year imprisonment alongside discretionary punishment, per the same records. The court&#39;s General Directorate of Judicial Research and Studies issued 81 technical legal opinions during Ramadan, February 2026, alone to ensure punishments &quot;conformed to Hanafi jurisprudence,&quot; according to the Supreme Court&#39;s quarterly report. Scale of the apparatus The judicial machinery extends beyond punishment. The Ministry of Justice handled 33,700 property petitions and 57,000 commercial loan disputes in 2022-23 and returned over 308,935 acres of land to state control, according to its annual report. In November 2025, 7,521 prisoners were released or had sentences reduced following inspections ordered by the Chief Justice, according to Supreme Court records. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid, whose X account has approximately one million followers, directly announces executions and dismisses UN criticism as &quot;contrary to reality,&quot; according to a Semantic Scholar study on Taliban digital strategy.&nbsp; The Taliban&#39;s supreme leader used the same channels in August 2025 to warn that &quot;God will severely punish Afghans ungrateful for [not accepting the Taliban&#39;s] rule,&quot; as reported by PBS. The United Nations and multiple human rights organizations have condemned the use of corporal punishment and public executions in Afghanistan.

Afghan men armed with guns and rifles march to show their solidarity with Taliban personnel in the Zazai Maidan district of Khost province on March 27, 2026. (AFP)

Afghanistan

Every capital sentence requires the personal sign-off of Supreme Leader Amirul Momineen Sheikh Hibatullah Akhundzada before implementation, according to the Supreme Court's own published records.

Lashed in public, shot in stadiums: Inside the Afghan Taliban's punishment machine

ISLAMABAD: The Afghan Taliban have introduced a new penal code that permits a husband to physically punish his wife, provided the violence does not result in broken bones or open wounds, according to a report published by The Telegraph.&nbsp;The British newspaper said it had obtained the 60-page legal document, signed by Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and circulated to courts across Afghanistan.&nbsp; The code reportedly classifies spousal beatings as &ldquo;ta&rsquo;zir,&rdquo; or discretionary punishment, rather than a criminal offence.&nbsp;Under the new provisions, a husband may strike his wife or children so long as no visible fractures or open injuries are caused. Even in cases where serious harm is proven, the maximum penalty is said to be 15 days in prison.&nbsp;The report said the complaint process makes it&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/taliban-tighten-restrictions-on-women-media-in-afghanistan-hrw-report" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">difficult for women to seek justice</a>. A woman must appear before a male judge, fully veiled and accompanied by a male guardian &mdash; often the husband accused of abuse.&nbsp; There is no explicit prohibition of physical, psychological or sexual violence against women in the code.&nbsp;The Telegraph further reported that a woman who leaves her husband&rsquo;s home without permission &mdash; including to escape violence &mdash; could face up to three months in prison under Article 34.&nbsp;Family members who shelter her may face the same punishment.&nbsp;The new code replaces legal protections introduced under Afghanistan&rsquo;s previous government, including a 2009 law that criminalized forced marriage, rape and gender-based violence.&nbsp;According to the newspaper, the document also introduces broader social and legal restrictions. It criminalizes dancing and attending dance performances, imposes penalties for criticizing Taliban leadership or policies, and does not provide for the right to legal counsel.&nbsp;Article 23 reportedly prescribes lashes and imprisonment for insulting&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/afghanistan-ranks-among-worlds-most-corrupt-countries-in-2025-report" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Taliban leaders</a>, while Article 17 criminalizes &ldquo;mockery&rdquo; of Islamic rulings without clearly defining the term.&nbsp;The report said the code distinguishes between different social classes and includes provisions that affect religious minorities, including followers of non-Hanafi Islamic schools.&nbsp;Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban have imposed wide-ranging restrictions on women and girls, including limits on education, employment and public participation.&nbsp; A United Nations report in July 2024 warned that enforcement measures by the ministry for promoting virtue and preventing vice were contributing to a climate of fear and intimidation.&nbsp;The Taliban authorities have not publicly responded to the Telegraph&rsquo;s report.

The British newspaper says it has obtained the 60-page legal document, signed by Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and circulated to courts across Afghanistan. The code reportedly classifies spousal beatings as “ta’zir,” or discretionary punishment, rather than a criminal offence.

Articles tagged with "Afghanistan penal code"

Lashed in public, shot in stadiums: Inside the Afghan Taliban's punishment machine

Afghan Taliban allow husbands to beat wives without breaking bones: Report