• news by AUN News correspondent
• Friday, December 16, 2022
• AUN News – ISSN: 2949-8090

Summary:

• “Targets are primarily women. Since November 18, more than 100 men and women have been flogged in public in Takhar, Logar, Laghman, Parwan, Kabul, and other parts of Afghanistan.

• Authorities have watched an execution since they took over in August 2021; Taliban authorities are thought to have executed one person in public last week.

• These rules say torture and other cruel, inhuman, or humiliating treatments or punishments are not allowed.

• “Doubts regarding fair trial experts brought up the UN covenant, which Afghanistan is a signatory to and forbids torture and other cruel, brutal, or degrading punishment.

• UN experts ten experts who wrote the declaration were chosen by the UN Human Rights Council, which has its main office in Geneva.

After Haibatullah Akhundzada, the leader of the Taliban, told courts last month to follow some parts of Islamic law, these sanctions were put in place.

In a statement, the experts asked the de facto government to “immediately put a stop to the death penalty, ban flogging and other physical punishments that are torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, and guarantee a fair trial and due process according to international standards.”

Targets are mostly women

Since November 18, more than 100 men and women have been flogged in public in Takhar, Logar, Laghman, Parwan, Kabul, and other parts of Afghanistan.

In front of Taliban leaders and members of the general public, the floggings took place in stadiums.

For purported offenses, including theft, “illegitimate” relationships, or breaking social norms, each person received between 20 and 100 lashes.

“Criminalizing unmarried relationships may seem fair for both men and women, but in reality, women and girls are punished more than men and boys,” the experts said.

Authorities watch an execution

Since they took over in August 2021, Taliban authorities are thought to have executed one person in public last week.

The OHCHR, the UN agency for human rights, called it a “very worrying” development.

According to news sources, the man who was executed was shot by the victim’s father and was accused of murder.

On December 7, the man was killed in a stadium southwest of Afghanistan’s Farah province that was full of people.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Chief Justice of the Taliban, among others, were present.

“Disgusting and indecent”

The UN experts said that on November 13, the Supreme Leader told the judiciary to carry out hudood (crimes against God) and visa (retribution in kind) punishments. They also said that public floggings and executions have since begun.

Public executions and floggings are against rules that everyone agrees on. These rules say torture and other cruel, inhuman, or humiliating treatments or punishments are not allowed.

They said, “The public display of these penalties makes them particularly repugnant and undignified.”

Doubts regarding a fair trial

The experts brought up the UN covenant, which Afghanistan is a signatory to and which forbids torture and other cruel, brutal, or degrading punishment.

The statement from the group stated, “We are also casting question on the fairness of the cases leading up to these sanctions, which appear not to satisfy basic fair trial principles.”

“Such harsh punishments, like the death penalty, are against international human rights law when they come from trials that don’t seem to have the necessary safeguards for a fair trial,” they said.

About UN experts

The ten experts who wrote the declaration were chosen by the UN Human Rights Council, which has its main office in Geneva.

Several of them are Special Rapporteurs, whose remits include matters like discrimination against women and girls or the state of human rights in Afghanistan.

The Council picks experts who are fair to all governments and groups, work independently, and only speak for themselves.

They are not UN employees, and their labor is not compensated.