Taliban carries out first public execution in Afghanistan since returning to power.
The Sunni Islamist movement had already carried out several public floggings, but Wednesday's execution is the first announced by the Taliban since they regained power.
RFI - The Taliban carried out its first public execution on Wednesday (7) since returning to power in August 2021: that of a man convicted of murder.
The Taliban's supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, ordered judges last month to fully implement certain aspects of Islamic law, such as public executions, stoning, flogging, or, in the case of thieves, amputation of limbs.
The Sunni Islamist movement had already carried out several public floggings, but Wednesday's execution is the first announced by the Taliban since they regained power.
The execution took place in Farah, the capital of the province of the same name located in the west of the territory. According to a statement released by the Taliban, the executed man's name was Tajmir and he lived in the province of Herat.
"The high court was instructed to apply this qisas order during a public meeting of residents," said Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid in the document. Qisa is an Islamic principle similar to the law of retaliation, which consists of causing the offender to suffer harm equal to that which he caused.
It is unclear how the execution was carried out. The Taliban specified in the statement that the man had admitted guilt.
Severe restrictions
During their first "mandate" in Afghanistan (1996-2001), the Taliban regularly inflicted public corporal punishments, including floggings and executions at Kabul's national stadium.
When they returned to power, the Islamists had promised that such measures would no longer be applied, although they implemented increasingly severe restrictions, especially for women.
They were gradually expelled from public life. Women cannot travel without being accompanied by a male relative and must wear a full veil in public, preferably a burqa. The Taliban also closed secondary schools for girls in most provinces.
Mujahid asserted that Wednesday's case was examined by a series of courts before reaching the Supreme Court. "The case was examined very thoroughly," he said in the statement. "In the end, they ordered the application of Sharia law of retribution to the killer."
Akhundzada rules by decree from Kandahar, the city where the movement originated. The statement specified that a dozen court officials and Taliban representatives attended the execution.