Afghanistan Must Immediately Stop Public Executions And Corporal Punishment: UN Experts

Geneva, 17 April 2025

UN experts* today urged the Taliban to immediately halt all inhumane punishments in Afghanistan, including capital and corporal punishments, after four public executions were carried out in a single day last week.

On 11 April, Afghanistan’s de facto Supreme Court announced that four men had been publicly executed as part of the Taliban’s Qisas (retribution in kind –in reference to religious law), punishments in Badghis (2), Farah (1) and Nimroz (1) provinces. This brings the total number of reported public executions carried out since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in August 2021 to at least 10.

“We condemn these public executions, which constitute a violation of international law and an attack on human dignity,” the experts said. “Turning executions into public events can never be justified, not even on religious grounds. It normalises brutality, desensitises communities to violence, and creates a climate of fear and intimidation.”

“Friday’s executions represent a worrying increase in this kind of punishment. We urge the Taliban to introduce an immediate moratorium on the death penalty with a view to its abolition,” they said.

The experts also expressed grave concern about the Taliban’s ongoing use of corporal punishment, mostly lashings, in violation of international human rights law. They are often imposed for alleged ‘crimes’ such as sodomy, running away from home, and ‘illicit relationships’. At least 213 such punishments (169 males and 44 females) have been carried out since the beginning of 2025, and in the few days since the public executions, at least 19 individuals (14 males and five females) have already been flogged, according to the de facto Supreme Court.

It is unclear whether the age and mental or intellectual capacity of those sentenced by Taliban courts were taken into account. “Regardless of the crime, under no circumstances should children, who were under the age of 18 at the time of the alleged crime, or persons whose serious psychosocial or intellectual disabilities impede their effective defence be sentenced to the death penalty,” the experts said.

They noted that executions and corporal punishments are taking place against a backdrop of ongoing concerns about access to justice and human rights abuses under the Taliban, including the institutionalised oppression of women and girls. “Capital and corporal punishment are incompatible with international human rights obligations, particularly in the absence of due process guarantees,” they said.

The experts stressed that the Taliban justice system lacked the necessary independence and procedural safeguards required to meet minimum standards of justice. “Noting that the country currently lacks a constitution and the certainty and clarity of applicable laws, we are particularly concerned about fair trial rights and access to justice for women and girls, as well as boys,” they said.

“The Taliban must immediately stop capital punishment and all forms of corporal punishment that constitute torture or other forms of cruel and inhuman punishment, and respect the rights and dignity of all detainees,” the experts said.

*The Experts: Richard Bennett, Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Afghanistan; Alice Jill Edwards, Special Rapporteur on Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences; Laura Nyirinkindi (Chair), Claudia Flores (Vice-Chair), Dorothy Estrada Tanck, Ivana Krstić, and Haina Lu, Working group on discrimination against women and girls; Nazila Ghanea, Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief;

Special Rapporteurs/Independent Experts/Working Groups are independent human rights experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Together, these experts are referred to as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. While the UN Human Rights office acts as the secretariat for Special Procedures, the experts serve in their individual capacity and are independent from any government or organization, including OHCHR and the UN. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the UN or OHCHR.

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