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
- DECEMBER 4, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
The UN Third Committee concluded session by approving...
The UN Third Committee concluded session by approving draft resolutions on human rights in Myanmar, Afghanistan, Iraq, Democratic Republic of Congo
- DECEMBER 2, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
The 16 Afghan employees of Shelter Now International...
The 16 Afghan employees of Shelter Now International [arrested with the eight Western aid-workers] were freed when the Northern Alliance forces entered Kabul
- DECEMBER 2, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
The man hanged as an alleged American spy in Martyrs'...
The man hanged as an alleged American spy in Martyrs' Square in Kandahar, with a satellite phone strung to his corpse, was a senior aide of Mullah Khakser, the former intelligence minister who since his recent defection has revealed how Osama bin Laden ba
- DECEMBER 1, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
United Nations High Commission for Human Rights Mary...
United Nations High Commission for Human Rights Mary Robertson said that she wants an inquiry in to the killings of Taliban prisoners at a fort in Afghanistan amid allegations that some of the men were shot execution style
- DECEMBER 1, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
ARD [the Pakistani Alliance for Restoration of Democracy]...
ARD [the Pakistani Alliance for Restoration of Democracy] chief Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, urged the UN human rights organizations to immediately launch a probe into the massacre of hundreds of prisoners of war by the Northern Alliance
- NOVEMBER 30, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
The Taliban publicly hanged a man suspected of spying...
The Taliban publicly hanged a man suspected of spying for the US in Kandahar and tied a satellite phone to his corpse, according to witnesses quoted by the Afghan Islamic Press
- NOVEMBER 29, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
The Pentagon was investigating reports of the massacre...
The Pentagon was investigating reports of the massacre of about 160 unarmed Taliban prisoners by American and Pakistani-backed opposition forces
- NOVEMBER 29, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
The quashing of the rebellion at Qala-i-Jhangi fort...
The quashing of the rebellion at Qala-i-Jhangi fort in Afghanistan has raised questions on the circumstances surrounding the deaths of hundreds of Taliban fighters and the role played by British and US forces in the killings
- NOVEMBER 29, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
Hundreds of Taliban prisoners who had seized rockets...
Hundreds of Taliban prisoners who had seized rockets and mortars in an attempt to take over the Northern Alliance fortress of Qala-e-Jangi near the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, were they were being held captive, died in three days of savage fighting
- NOVEMBER 26, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
The International Red Cross reported finding up to...
The International Red Cross reported finding up to 200 bodies in Kabul since the Northern Alliance offensives forced the Taliban regime's troops to retreat
- NOVEMBER 24, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
The UN high commissioner for human rights said that...
The UN high commissioner for human rights said that anyone found responsible for atrocities in Afghanistan should not be allowed to participate in any future government
- NOVEMBER 24, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
A mass grave of people believed to have been executed...
A mass grave of people believed to have been executed by the Taleban had been discovered in Herat, western Afghanistan