Afghan law does not prohibit the execution of an individual...

Afghan law does not prohibit the execution of an individual who was under the age of 18 at the time the crime was committed. While executions took place in Afghanistan before the Taliban takeover, the army of former Islamic seminarians has added several new twists. For example, it has curtailed a defendant's right to appeal rulings and gives the families of murder victims the option of carrying out a court-imposed death sentence or granting mercy. Taliban punishments are generally carried out in public. The Taleban Islamic militia has emerged as the strongest force among the rival factions fighting for power in the war-torn east Asian country. The Afghan war, sparked off by the Soviet invasion of December 1979, pitted Western-backed Muhajideen "holy warriors" against Soviet and Afghan government troops. It became civil strife between guerrilla factions after the Soviets/Russians withdrew their troops in 1989. The Taleban currently control over 90 per cent of Afghan territory including the capital city Kabul. Only three countries, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have recognised the Taleban leadership. In the part of Afghanistan under Taliban control, convicted murderers and adulterers are killed, the limbs of thieves are amputated, and people found guilty of lesser crimes are beaten.