KABUL —
Afghanistan’s supreme leader has ordered judges to fully enforce aspects of
Islamic law that include public executions, stoning and floggings, and the
amputation of limbs for thieves, the Taliban’s chief spokesman said.
اضافة اعلان
Zabihullah Mujahid
tweeted late Sunday that the “obligatory” command by
Hibatullah Akhundzada came
after the secretive leader met with a group of judges.
Akhundzada, who
has not been filmed or photographed in public since the Taliban returned to
power in August last year, rules by decree from Kandahar, the movement’s
birthplace and spiritual heartland.
The Taliban
promised a softer version of the harsh rule that characterized their first
stint in power, from 1996–2001, but have gradually clamped down on rights and
freedoms.
“Carefully examine
the files of thieves, kidnappers, and seditionists,” Mujahid quoted Akhundzada
as saying.
“Those files in
which all the sharia (Islamic law) conditions of hudud and qisas have been
fulfilled, you are obliged to implement.”
“This is the ruling
of sharia, and my command, which is obligatory.”
Mujahid was not
available Monday to expand on his tweet.
Hudud refers to
offences which, under Islamic law, certain types of punishment are mandated,
while qisas translates as “retaliation in kind” — effectively an eye for an eye.
Hudud crimes
include adultery — and falsely accusing someone of it — drinking alcohol,
theft, kidnapping and highway robbery, apostasy, and rebellion.
Qisas covers murder
and deliberate injury, among other things, but also allows for the families of
victims to accept compensation in lieu of punishment.
Islamic scholars
say crimes leading to hudud punishment require a very high degree of proof,
including — in the case of adultery — confession, or being witnessed by four
adult male Muslims.
Summary floggings
Social media has been awash for over a year — and even recently — with
videos and pictures of Taliban fighters meting out summary floggings to people
accused of various offences.
The
Taliban have
also several times displayed in public the bodies of kidnappers they said were
killed in shootouts.
There have also
been reports of adulterers being flogged in rural areas after Friday prayers,
but independent verification is difficult to obtain.
Women in particular
have seen hard-won rights evaporate in the past 15 months, and they are
increasingly being squeezed out of public life.
Most female
government workers have lost their jobs — or are being paid a pittance to stay
at home — while women are also barred from travelling without a male relative
and must cover up with a burqa or hijab when out of the home.
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