The Taliban said Saturday they flogged 16 people, including six women, in public in two Afghan provinces after convicting them of “moral crimes.”

According to a statement from the Taliban’s Supreme Court, the punishments took place in Kapisa and Khost provinces. Local courts sentenced each person to 39 lashes on charges of extramarital relations or fleeing their homes. Thirteen were flogged in Kapisa and three in Khost.

The Taliban did not release the identities of those punished. Rights groups say defendants in Taliban-run courts are denied due process and have no access to fair trials.

The group describes corporal punishment, including flogging, as enforcement of Islamic law. Taliban courts across Afghanistan issue such sentences regularly, often in public gatherings.

Just last week, authorities flogged at least 27 people in Kabul, Takhar and Balkh provinces on charges of illicit relations, selling alcohol and trafficking narcotic pills.

Despite repeated condemnation from international human rights organisations, the Taliban have continued to carry out public corporal punishments since returning to power in 2021.