Published on: 07/12/2022 – 17:30
The Afghan government said Wednesday it had carried out the first public execution of an inmate on death row since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021.
Repatriation of capital executions in public in Afghanistan. For the first time since returning to power, the Taliban carried out a public killing on Wednesday, December 7 – that of a man convicted of murder – just weeks after their supreme leader ordered Islamic law to be overridden its most brutal aspects.
The Supreme Court was ordered to enforce “this order of ‘qisas’ during a public gathering of residents” in Farah (west), Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement, citing the law of retribution contained in Sharia is included.
Shot with a Kalashnikov
The convict, named Tajmir, son of Ghulam Sarwar, was accused of murdering a man and stealing his motorcycle and a cell phone in 2017, the Taliban statement said.
The sentence was carried out by the victim’s father, who shot the convict three times with a Kalashnikov, the Taliban spokesman said in the evening.
Under the first Taliban regime (1996-2001), the majority of convicts were shot or stoned, depending on the crimes charged.
The death row inmate, who lived in Anjil district in western Afghanistan’s Herat province, had been “acknowledged by the heirs of the deceased” and had admitted his guilt, the same source assured.
The country’s new leaders assured that the case had been thoroughly examined by various courts (first instance, appellate court and supreme court) before their supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, upheld the verdict.
Mandate to apply Sharia
In mid-November, Hibatullah Akhundzada ordered the judges to enforce all aspects of Islamic law, including public executions, stoning and flogging, and limb amputations for thieves.
“Check carefully the records of thieves, kidnappers and rioters,” the Taliban spokesman wrote in a tweet, quoting Hibatullah Akhundzada.
For “those files in which all the conditions of Sharia (…) are met, you are obliged to apply all sanctions provided,” he continued.
“With this formal request to apply what is written, Hibatullah Akhundzada reminds that the only law on earth is the law of God and that people do not have to interpret it,” analyzes Karim Pakzad, researcher at the Institute for International and Strategic Relations (Iris) , interviewed by AFP.
The Taliban are now encountering resistance within the regime itself: “The Sharia, which is the ideological basis of the movement, is a way of bringing people together and creating unity,” observes the researcher.
Muslim fundamentalists have carried out several public floggings since taking power in August 2021, but Wednesday’s execution is the first they admit.
“It’s inhuman to see that”
For more than a year, social media has been inundated with videos and photos of Taliban fighters street whipping people accused of various crimes.
There have also been reports of floggings for adultery in rural areas after Friday prayers, but it’s difficult to independently verify.
Upon their return to power, the Taliban promised to be more flexible in applying Sharia law, but they have largely returned to the ultra-rigorous interpretation of Islam that marked their first seizure of power.
They then publicly punished the perpetrators of theft, kidnapping or adultery with penalties such as amputation of a limb and stoning.
“These penalties are banned worldwide. It’s inhuman to see,” Ogai Amil, an Afghan human rights activist, told AFP on Wednesday.
In Paris, the French Foreign Ministry condemned this public execution, citing a “disgusting” decision. For its part, Washington regretted that the Taliban had not kept their promises with their “heinous” public execution.
With AFP and Portal