Public Execution in Paktia; UN Calls for Immediate Halt to Executions and Other Physical Punishments by Taliban

The UN Office in Geneva expressed concern over the increase in executions and the deterioration of human rights conditions in Afghanistan, stressing that such actions contradict Afghanistan's international human rights obligations.

The office stated: "Despite international calls for the respect of human rights, Taliban authorities have once again implemented public executions, lashings, and other forms of corporal punishment."

Meanwhile, Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan, described the execution as "horrific" and a blatant violation of human rights, calling for an immediate end to such punishments.

In a message posted on social media platform X, he said: "I urge the Taliban to immediately stop these brutal punishments, which are clear violations of human rights."

It is noteworthy that yesterday, the Taliban executed a man accused of "premeditated murder" in the central stadium of Gardez city, the capital of Paktia province, in public.

The execution was carried out in the presence of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the acting Taliban Minister of Interior, Khalil-ur-Rahman Haqqani, the acting Minister of Refugees, and several other Taliban officials, as well as a large gathering of people.

This was the sixth public execution carried out by the Taliban since their return to power in Afghanistan. The group has previously executed one person in Farah, two in Ghazni, one in Laghman, and one in Jowzjan in public.