Date: 28/05/1444 Thursday (May 28, 1444 AH), based on the decision of the Criminal Court of the City of Faizabad in Badakhshan province, 21 criminals, including four women, were subjected to discretionary punishment for crimes of illicit relationships and moral corruption. After examining and reviewing the respective cases, the Criminal Court of Faizabad sentenced each individual to 29 lashes as discretionary punishment. The aforementioned criminals expressed their satisfaction with the decisions issued by the Criminal Court of the City of Faizabad. This sentence was carried out at around 9 AM in the presence of scholars, elders, and citizens of Badakhshan province in the public courtyard of the telecommunications department of this province, serving as a lesson to themselves and a warning to others.

The public flogging of 21 individuals, including four women, in Faizabad, Badakhshan, for alleged “illicit relationships and moral corruption” marks yet another instance of the Taliban’s use of corporal punishment as a tool of social control. The punishment—carried out publicly with the presence of community leaders—demonstrates the regime’s continued reliance on discretionary (ta'zir) sentencing without adherence to international fair trial standards.

This practice violates multiple human rights, including the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, the right to a fair trial, and personal autonomy. The claim that the accused “expressed satisfaction” with their punishment raises serious concerns about coercion and the lack of genuine consent in Taliban judicial processes. Public punishments intended as “lessons” to others reinforce fear-based governance and systematically erode individual dignity and legal protections.