Date: 15/06/1446

Implementation of Discretionary Criminal Sentences for Five Offenders and Accused Individuals in Parwan Province.

In accordance with the rulings of the Courts of Appeal, the City Court, and the Primary Court of Salang District in Parwan Province, discretionary criminal sentences were publicly executed today, Tuesday (15th Jumada al-Thani, 1446 AH), on five individuals, including two women. Three individuals were convicted of adultery, while one man and one woman were sentenced for engaging in illicit relationships. The sentences were carried out at the sports stadium in Parwan Province.
The aforementioned courts sentenced one accused to three years of imprisonment and 30 lashes, the second to two years of imprisonment and 39 lashes, and the third to 39 lashes. One convicted individual was sentenced to six years of imprisonment and 39 lashes, while another was sentenced to three years of imprisonment and 39 lashes as discretionary punishment.
The gathering held for this purpose was attended by respected Mawlawi Mir Agha (Zabihullah Khalid), Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals; the Governor of Parwan Province; the Director of Public Works; the Deputy of the Ulema Council; other officials from government departments; and members of the general public.
These rulings were implemented after receiving approval from the Supreme Court.

The public enforcement of imprisonment and corporal punishment against five individuals, including two women, in Parwan Province reflects the continued use of discretionary punishment by Taliban authorities to police morality through spectacle and coercion. The execution of sentences at a sports stadium, following Supreme Court approval and in the presence of senior officials and the public, underscores the performative nature of punishment as a tool of social control. Convictions and accusations for “adultery” and “illicit relationships” rely on gendered moral offenses that intrude into private life and disproportionately affect women. Implemented through judicial processes lacking independence and meaningful safeguards, the punishments function as arbitrary and coercive practices that undermine personal autonomy, liberty, dignity, and gender equality, while normalizing public violence as an instrument of governance.