Taliban Ban All Demonstrations in Afghanistan

Photograph: Bülent Kılıç/AFP/Getty

The Taliban have banned all demonstrations across Afghanistan under their newly published “Police Law”, formally incorporating restrictions on freedom of assembly and civil protest into the group’s legal framework.

The law, drafted by Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban leader, was published today, Saturday (22 August), by the group’s Ministry of Justice under the title “Police Law”. The law is organised into five chapters and 53 articles, with the Taliban’s Ministry of Interior designated as responsible for its implementation.

Article 50 of the law states: “Any demonstration within the territory of Afghanistan is prohibited.” The Taliban provide no further explanation of the ban in this article.

The formal ban on demonstrations comes after the Taliban repeatedly suppressed civil protests over the past five years. Women protesters, civil society activists and other citizens who have protested against the group’s restrictions and policies have faced arrest, threats and pressure in numerous cases.

Since the Taliban returned to power, women have been among the main groups holding street protests and civil actions against bans on education, restrictions on work, compulsory dress rules and exclusion from public life. However, many of these protests have been stopped by Taliban forces.

The “Police Law” is not limited to banning demonstrations. Other sections also set out conditions for the apprehension and detention of individuals, the use of weapons and the powers of Taliban security officials.

Under the law, Taliban officers may in certain circumstances detain individuals on the basis of a complaint, testimony or suspicion. Article 41 also states that security officials may pressure suspects accused of serious crimes to repent through “harsh language” and even threats of death.

The Taliban also state in the law that officers must not torture detainees with sticks, whips, cables or other methods. However, numerous reports of violent treatment, arbitrary detention and abuse of prisoners have been published over the past five years.

The complete ban on demonstrations further restricts the space for civil protest, which was already under severe Taliban pressure. For Afghan women, who over the past five years have regarded protest as one of the few remaining means of expressing opposition to restrictions, the law may mean the formalisation of the ban on their demonstrations.