Taliban Shot Convict In Public In Eastern Afghanistan

The man was shot this morning at the stadium in Gardez, the capital of Paktia province, which was packed with thousands of people who had come to witness the execution, an AFP journalist said. The day before, the governor of the region had called on residents on social media to "take part in the event". 

The execution order was signed by the Taliban's supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, who lives in isolation in southern Kandahar and rules the country by decree or instruction, the Supreme Court said in a statement. Courts in different jurisdictions had already examined the case "in detail and on several occasions", the body added. 

The victim's family was consulted to see if they would pardon the convicted man. Given their refusal, the execution was ordered under the Islamic principle of 'qisas' or law of retaliation, according to the same source. In February, three men were executed in the same week, two in Ghazni in the east and one in Sheberghan in the north. Before that, one man was executed in December 2022 and another in June 2023. All were convicted of murder.

Public executions were common during the first Taliban regime, between 1996 and 2001. Those convicted were most often shot or stoned to death, depending on the crimes they were accused of.

Since August 2021, when the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, the authorities have regularly carried out public punishments for other crimes, such as theft, adultery and alcohol consumption.

Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada said in August, on the third anniversary of the capture of Kabul, that the application of Islamic law was "a responsibility until death".

Shortly afterwards, the authorities announced a new law on "propagation of virtue and suppression of vice", which governs all aspects of Afghans' social and private lives according to a strict interpretation of Islamic law, and which particularly affects the lives of women.

These laws, considered worrying by human rights defenders, have sparked protests from the international community, which has yet to recognise the power of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The UN accuses the Taliban authorities of having established a "gender apartheid" in the country of 45 million people, one of the poorest in the world, with anaemic growth, massive unemployment and a serious humanitarian crisis.