Date: 27/05/1403 8am has obtained information indicating that the Taliban's Primary Court in the Shulgara district of Balkh province has issued a stoning sentence for a woman accused of having an extramarital relationship. According to this information, the stoning sentence was issued by Mohammad Ayoub Rashid, the judge of the Taliban’s Primary Court in Shulgara district, with a fatwa from Abu Zubair Hamidullah Qanat, the mufti of the Taliban court in the district.

The findings of the report show that the Taliban’s Primary Court issued the stoning sentence for a woman in the village of 'Arlat' in the Shulgara district of Balkh province on charges of having an extramarital relationship, based on a confession the group obtained from her. The report refrains from mentioning the names of the woman and the man due to security threats.

In its ruling, the Taliban’s Primary Court claimed that the sentence was based on the woman’s testimony, which had been given four times. However, the man involved in the case denied having an extramarital relationship. According to the Taliban court’s claims, the man admitted to visiting the woman’s house. The court has deemed this man 'deserving of a discretionary punishment' for the same offense. The court has stated that this ruling was issued based on Article 102 of the Taliban regime’s administrative guidelines

Meanwhile, one of the legal experts and judges in the former Supreme Court, who prefers to remain anonymous, told the 8am newspaper that according to historical sources and jurisprudential rules, a confession is only valid if the person voluntarily goes to the court four times and admits to their crime, requesting the implementation of the 'Sharia punishment.' According to him, in the case of this woman, the Taliban had arrested her, brought charges against her, and even forced her to attend their judicial session.

This former judge added, 'Furthermore, the Arabic phrases used in the confession are vague and questionable. The fact that such strong Arabic phrases were used by an illiterate rural woman seems suspicious. It appears that the judge, due to doubt, attempted to apply the punishment despite the uncertainty