Afghanistan’s Supreme Court announced on Friday the public execution of four men, marking the largest number of executions in a single day since the Taliban regained control of the country.
These executions took place in sports stadiums across three different provinces. The total number of public executions since 2021 now stands at 10, per AFP.
In a statement, Amnesty International condemned the executions.
“The Taliban de facto authorities continue to flagrantly flout human rights principles with complete disregard for international human rights law. We oppose all executions as a violation of the right to life,” it said.
“Carrying out executions in public adds to the inherent cruelty of the death penalty and can only have a dehumanizing effect on the victim and a brutalizing effect on those who witness the executions,” the statement added.
Amnesty International called on the international community to put pressure on the Taliban “to end this blatant human rights violation and help ensure that international safeguards are respected in Afghanistan.”
The executed individuals were “sentenced to retaliatory punishment” for allegedly shooting other men. The Afghan Supreme Court said their cases were “examined very precisely and repeatedly,” but human rights groups have raised concerns that trials under the Taliban are not fair.
“The families of the victims turned down the opportunity to offer the men amnesty,” per the Supreme Court.
