UN Human Rights Office appalled by mass floggings in Afghanistan

By Peter Kenny

GENEVA (AA) - The UN Human Rights Office said Friday it is appalled by mass floggings by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

“Corporal punishment constitutes a form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” said UN Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani in a statement

“It is prohibited under both the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Afghanistan is a State party to both,” he said.

Shamdasani said since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan on Aug. 15, 2021, the UN Human Rights Office has documented numerous cases of public corporal punishment.

In many instances, these are for alleged violations of religious or moral codes.

In the last 12 days alone, a woman and a man were lashed 39 times each for spending time alone together outside of marriage, a child was lashed 60 times for petty theft, and a man was lashed 20 times, also for theft from a shop.

On Nov. 23, three women and 11 men were lashed between 35 and 100 times at a football stadium in Logar province for alleged crimes, including theft, “violating social behavior rules,” or “illegal relationships.”​​​​​​​