Afghanistan
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- theocracy
- CONSTITUTION
- new, signed on January 16, 2004 (based on the one from 1964); suspended by the Taliban in 2021
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- the Taliban are applying their interpretation of Islamic law, which is partly based on the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- the Taliban government has not announced the formation of a legislative body
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- Supreme Court and many provincial courts, religious courts and specialized courts
RELIGIONS
Muslim 99.7% (Sunnis 84.7 - 89.7%, Shia 10 - 15%), other <0.3% (2009 est.)
From the country
OCTOBER 7, 2025AfghanistanDEATH PENALTYAFGHANISTAN: 72 PRISONERS RELEASED FROM TALIBAN JAIL IN SAR-E-PUL
Taliban have released 72 prisoners from a jail in the northern province of Sar-e-Pul under orders from their leader, while reducing the sentences of 95 others, local sources told Amu on October 6, 2025.
- SEPTEMBER 25, 2025AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
AFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN PUBLICLY FLOGS 17 IN KABUL AS CORPORAL PUNISHMENT PERSISTS
The Taliban publicly flogged 17 people in Kabul on drug-related charges on September 22, 2025, the group’s supreme court announced, as corporal punishment continues across Afghanistan.
SEPTEMBER 17, 2025AfghanistanDEATH PENALTYAFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN PUBLICLY FLOGS OVER 20, INCLUDING A WOMAN, IN FOUR PROVINCES
The Taliban has publicly flogged 22 people, including a woman, in four provinces of Afghanistan over the past three days, the group’s supreme court announced on September 16, 2025.
SEPTEMBER 9, 2025AfghanistanDEATH PENALTYAFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN HANG MAN IN PUBLIC IN HERAT AFTER EXECUTION-STYLE SHOOTING
Sources have confirmed that Taliban members in western Afghanistan shot a man dead and hanged his body in public on August 22, 2025.
SEPTEMBER 4, 2025AfghanistanDEATH PENALTYAFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN PUBLICLY FLOGS 13 PEOPLE FOR ADULTERY AND DRUG-RELATED OFFENSES
The Taliban publicly flogged 13 people, including a woman, in Kabul over the past two days for adultery and drug-related offenses, the group’s supreme court announced on September 2, 2025.
SEPTEMBER 2, 2025AfghanistanDEATH PENALTYAFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN TEACHER’S DEATH SENTENCE TO BE REVIEWED BY APPEALS COURT
The case of an Afghan teacher sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy will go before a Taliban appeals court by the end of September, local sources in Paktika province said on August 31, 2025.
SEPTEMBER 1, 2025AfghanistanDEATH PENALTYAFGHANISTAN: SIX FLOGGED IN KABUL AS TALIBAN INTENSIFY PUBLIC PUNISHMENTS
The Taliban on August 30, 2025 publicly flogged six people in the Afghan capital after convicting them of drug‑related offenses, the group’s Supreme Court said.
JULY 19, 2025AfghanistanDEATH PENALTYAFGHANISTAN: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH BY TALIBAN COURT OVER ALLEGED BLASPHEMY
A Taliban court in Afghanistan’s Paktika province has sentenced a man to death on charges of blasphemy, according to a spokesperson for the group.
- JULY 15, 2025AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
AFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN PUBLICLY FLOGS TWO IN KABUL AND GHAZNI AS CORPORAL PUNISHMENT PERSISTS
The Taliban flogged two individuals, including a woman, in Kabul and Ghazni provinces earlier this week, as the group continues carrying out corporal punishment despite widespread global condemnation, KabulNow reported on July 11, 2025.
JUNE 19, 2025AfghanistanDEATH PENALTYAFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN FLOG THREE IN TAKHAR AND MAIDAN WARDAK AMID ONGOING PUBLIC PUNISHMENTS
Taliban have publicly flogged three people, including a woman, in separate incidents in northern and central Afghanistan, the group’s Supreme Court announced on June 18, 2025.
- JUNE 10, 2025AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
AFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN PUBLICLY FLOG WOMAN AND 13 MEN ACROSS FOUR PROVINCES
The Taliban’s Supreme Court has announced that 14 individuals, including one woman, were publicly flogged across four provinces of Afghanistan.
JUNE 5, 2025AfghanistanDEATH PENALTYAFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN RELEASE OR EASE SENTENCES OF OVER 2,500 PRISONERS AHEAD OF EID
The Taliban have released 1,559 prisoners and shortened the sentences of 950 others on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, the group’s supreme court announced on June 4, 2025.