Date: 28/08/1446

Discretionary Punitive Sentences Implemented Against Thirteen Individuals in Jawzjan Province
Based on the rulings of the courts of Jawzjan Province, discretionary punitive sentences were enforced against thirteen individuals, including five women, on charges of adultery and illicit relationships. The sentences were carried out in a public setting on 28/08/1446 AH.
The courts of Jawzjan Province sentenced the convicted individuals as follows:

Six defendants were sentenced to three years of enforceable imprisonment and thirty‑nine lashes each;
Two defendants were sentenced to four years of enforceable imprisonment and thirty‑nine lashes each;
Two convicted individuals were sentenced to three years of enforceable imprisonment and twenty‑nine lashes each; and
Three other convicted individuals were sentenced to four years of enforceable imprisonment and thirty‑nine lashes each, as discretionary (taʿzīr) punishment.

At the gathering organized for this purpose, Mawlawi Abdul Ghani (Sa‘id), President of the Court of Appeals of Jawzjan Province, members of the judiciary, officials from other Emirate departments, and members of the general public were in attendance.
This ruling was implemented following confirmation by the Supreme Court.

The public enforcement of imprisonment and corporal punishment against thirteen individuals, including five women, in Jawzjan Province reflects the continued use of discretionary punishment by Taliban authorities to police morality and regulate private relationships. The imposition of lengthy prison sentences alongside lashings for charges of “adultery” and “illicit relationships,” carried out publicly following Supreme Court confirmation, underscores the performative and exemplary nature of punishment as a tool of social control. Applied through judicial processes lacking independence and meaningful safeguards, these punishments function as arbitrary and coercive practices that intrude into private and family life, undermine personal autonomy and liberty, and disproportionately impact women, while normalizing physical violence as an accepted instrument of governance.