The Taliban Supreme Court has announced that 14 individuals, including one woman, were publicly flogged in the provinces of Kabul, Khost, Parwan and Paktika on charges including drug trafficking, running away from home and theft.

In addition to lashings, the individuals were sentenced to prison terms ranging from six months to four years.

In a statement released Thursday, 5 June, the Taliban Supreme Court said nine people in Kabul were sentenced to between 10 and 20 lashes for allegedly selling and trafficking drugs. They were also given prison terms of six to seven months.

In separate reports, the court said a woman and a man were flogged in Parwan for running away from home. Two other individuals in Khost were flogged on drug trafficking charges.

The Taliban’s primary court in Khost also sentenced one person to 36 public lashes for theft, along with a two-year prison term.

Additionally, two individuals, including a woman in Parwan, were sentenced to four years in prison and 35 lashes. Two others in Khost received prison terms of two years and eight months, along with between 35 and 39 lashes.

In the past week alone, the Taliban have publicly flogged at least 41 people across Afghanistan for various offences. The group describes these punishments as the implementation of Sharia.

Despite strong opposition from international human rights organisations to the use of corporal punishment and torture, the Taliban judicial system continues to conduct public floggings and executions.