Taliban chop off 4 hands in packed stadium: Victims were accused of theft, flogged those having illicit relations

The Taliban chopped off the hands of four people in Afghanistan on Tuesday in front of a huge crowd at a football stadium. All of them were accused of theft. In addition, five youths accused of having illicit relations in the stadium were also flogged 35-39 times, Haji Zaid, a spokesman for the governor's office, reported The Sun.

The incident took place at the Ahmed Shahi Stadium in Kandahar. Taliban officials, religious clerics, elders, and local people were present at the stadium at the time of the sentencing. Shabnam Nasimi, a human rights advocate and former policy advisor to the Afghan Minister of Rehabilitation and Refugees, shared a picture of the incident. It can be seen that 9 people are waiting for their punishment sitting on the grass.

'History repeating itself

Afghan journalist Tjuden Soroush also shared a picture of the scene outside the stadium on Twitter and said – History is repeating itself. The Taliban have started carrying out public executions, as in the 1990s.

The first public hanging was given last month

The Taliban hanged the man convicted of the murder in December. It was the first public execution since the Taliban returned to power. A man accused of murder in western Farah province was shot dead by the man's father three times with an assault rifle in a stadium packed with people, The Sun reported. Many Taliban leaders were present to see this punishment given in public.

Public executions return to Afghanistan

The practice of public executions has returned since the Taliban took over Afghanistan. On 24 November, the Taliban beat 12 people accused of moral crimes in front of a crowd of thousands in a football stadium. Among these 12 people, 3 women were also involved. According to a Taliban official, these people were accused of theft, adultery, and gay intimacy.

In November 2022, 19 people got such a punishment

According to the report of BBC, in November, such a case also came to light in the Takhar Province of Afghanistan, in which 19 people were punished publicly. In Nuristan province, a woman was beaten for listening to music. All these punishments are being given according to Sharia law.

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