Date: 29/11/1403

Implementation of Discretionary Criminal Sentences Against Four Defendants in Takhar Province
Based on the ruling of the Primary Court of Farkhar District in Takhar Province, discretionary criminal sentences were executed today, Monday, 18/08/1446 Hijri Qamari, against four individuals — including two women — accused of committing adultery. The sentences were carried out in the municipal courtyard of the mentioned district.

The Primary Court had sentenced three of the defendants to one year and six months of enforceable imprisonment and 39 lashes each, while the fourth defendant was sentenced to five years of enforceable imprisonment and 39 lashes. This ruling was implemented following its approval by the Supreme Court.
The discretionary punishments were executed in the presence of judicial officials, court visitors, and local residents.

The public sentencing of four individuals, including two women, in Takhar Province illustrates the continued use of discretionary punishment to enforce moral norms through public exposure and severe penalties. The execution of lengthy prison sentences combined with corporal punishment in a municipal courtyard situates punishment as a communal warning rather than a confined judicial act. Charges of “adultery” rely on gendered moral offenses that intrude into intimate and family life and disproportionately affect women. Implemented through judicial processes lacking independence and meaningful safeguards, these sentences operate as arbitrary and coercive measures that curtail liberty, suppress personal autonomy, and normalize public violence as a mechanism of social control.