CNN
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The Taliban on Wednesday killed a suspected murderer in the first public execution in Afghanistan since the Islamist group returned to power.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said a man was shot three times by the alleged victim’s father in an execution attended by senior Taliban officials in southwestern Farah province. The man was accused of stabbing a victim to death in 2017 and stealing a mobile phone and bicycle.
The news comes just weeks after the Taliban ordered judges to fully apply their interpretation of Sharia law, which includes public executions, amputations and floggings.
This is the first public execution since Kabul fell into Taliban hands after US troops withdrew from Kabul in August 2021. During the early period of Taliban rule from 1996 to his 2001, public executions were common, as were other violent punishments.
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According to the Taliban, the defendant admitted to the killing and the case was tried in three different courts. Afghanistan’s Supreme Leader Amirul Mominen gave final approval to the execution, according to a statement.
The victim’s mother told state media RTA Pasht that the family had turned down several requests for pardon from the murder suspect.
“He said that if we forgive him and he is released, he will go out and kill someone else’s son. I wanted the punishment to be the death penalty,” she said.
Among the Taliban officials who witnessed the execution were the acting Chief Justice, the deputy prime minister, the acting interior minister, and the deputy governor of Farah.
“We strongly oppose the death penalty in any circumstances and call on the de facto authorities to establish an immediate moratorium with the aim of abolishing the death penalty,” the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said in a Twitter post.
Khaled Abu El-Fadl, a professor of Islamic law at UCLA and one of the world’s leading authorities on Shariah law, told CNN in November that in Sharia’s 1,400-year tradition, punishments such as public executions have been banned. He said it was historically rarely done. Legal scholars interpreted the law differently than the Taliban.
After seizing power last August, the Taliban initially attempted to project a more moderate image to garner international support. But it has since cracked down on rights and freedoms.
Afghan women can no longer work in most sectors, long-distance travel requires male guardians, and girls are barred from returning to secondary school. Women are also prohibited from entering the park.
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