Taliban official says 9 men lashed in public in Afghanistan

Nine men were lashed in public in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday as punishment for different crimes under the country's new rulers, a Taliban-appointed official said.

The lashings were the latest example of harsh policies imposed by the Taliban since they seized power in the country in August 2021 — policies that reflect their interpretation of Islamic law or Sharia.

Haji Zaid, a spokesman for the governor's office in southern Kandahar province, said in a tweet that the lashings took place at the sports stadium in the city of Kandahar, the provincial capital.

Each man was lashed between 35 and 39 times in front of Taliban officials, religious clerics, elders, and local people, he said.

Zaid's tweet did not elaborate on the crimes the nine were accused of or provide other details.

Zaid and other Taliban officials in Kandahar could not immediately be reached for more comment.

Last month, the Taliban executed an Afghan convicted of killing another man, the first public execution since the former insurgents returned to power.

The execution was carried out with an assault rifle by the victim's father in western Farah province as hundreds of spectators and many top Taliban officials watched.

No country has officially recognised the new Afghan government under the Taliban, who previously ruled Afghanistan in the late 1990s.