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India
The Taliban government in Afghanistan carried out the public execution of four men on Friday, marking the highest number of executions conducted in a single day since the group’s return to power in 2021. The executions, held in three different provinces, bring the total number of public executions since the Taliban’s resurgence to ten, according to an AFP tally.
Public executions were a hallmark of the Taliban’s first rule from 1996 to 2001, with many carried out in sports stadiums before large audiences.
Executions in Three Provinces
Two of the four men were executed in Qala-i-Naw, the capital of Badghis province. Witnesses described the event as a solemn and rigidly enforced proceeding.
“They (the convicted men) were made to sit and turn their backs to us. Relatives from the victims’ families stood behind and shot them with a gun,” said Mohammad Iqbal Rahimyar to AFP, a 48-year-old spectator who witnessed the execution. According to the Supreme Court, the men had been sentenced to “retaliatory punishment” for shooting others, following a judicial review conducted “very precisely and repeatedly.”
The court also stated that the victims’ families were given the option to grant amnesty but chose not to do so.
“If the family of the victim had forgiven the men it would be better, otherwise it’s God’s order, and should be implemented,” said a 35-year-old man named Zabihullah to AFP, standing outside the stadium.
A third man was executed in Zaranj, the capital of Nimroz province, while the fourth was put to death in Farah city, the capital of the province of the same name, according to the Supreme Court.
Public Participation and Justification by Taliban
In a move reminiscent of their earlier rule, the Taliban government publicly announced the executions in advance, inviting Afghans to “attend the event” through widely circulated official notices.
Spectators expressed a mix of support and apprehension. “It’s good that the Islamic Emirate shows its politics and force. I am very happy with that,” said Javid, a 30-year-old onlooker, using the Taliban’s official name for their government.
The most recent public execution before this incident took place in November 2024, when a convicted murderer was shot three times in the chest by a member of the victim’s family in front of thousands of spectators, including high-ranking Taliban officials, at a stadium in Gardez, the capital of Paktia province.
Rule of Law Under Taliban
Corporal punishment—especially public floggings—has become common under the Taliban’s governance, applied for crimes such as theft, adultery, and alcohol consumption. However, execution orders require approval from the group’s Supreme Leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, who remains in Kandahar, the movement’s stronghold.
In 2022, Akhundzada ordered judges to fully implement the Taliban’s interpretation of Islamic law, which includes “qisas”—the principle of “an eye for an eye”—allowing for capital punishment in cases of murder.
The Taliban emerged from the chaos of Afghanistan’s post-Soviet civil war in 1989, emphasizing strict law enforcement as a central tenet of their ideology. One of the most infamous moments of their previous rule was the 1999 execution of a woman in Kabul’s stadium. The woman, who wore a full burqa, had been accused of killing her husband.
Global Condemnation and Human Rights Concerns
The Taliban’s use of the death penalty has drawn widespread criticism from human rights organizations and international bodies. The United Nations and Amnesty International have both condemned the Taliban’s increasing reliance on public punishments.
Amnesty International has placed Afghanistan among countries where “death sentences were known to have been imposed after proceedings that did not meet international fair trial standards,” the NGO stated in its annual report on executions published in April.
According to the report, Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia accounted for 91 percent of known executions worldwide in 2024, contributing to a global increase in death sentences. Amnesty International recorded at least 1,518 executions worldwide in 2024. However, the report noted that this number did not include thousands of unconfirmed executions believed to have taken place in China, which remains the world’s leading executioner.
