Afghanistan
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1999
Data card
- Legal status
- Retentionist
- Executions recorded in 2026
- 0
- Executions recorded in 2025
- 7
- First news item in the archive
- JANUARY 1, 1999 · Afghan law does not prohibit the execution of an individual...
- News items in the archive
- 560
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
Afghanistan is classified as Retentionist in the Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026. In 2026 the association recorded 0 executions in the country, against 7 the year before. The archive holds 560 news items on Afghanistan, from 1999 to today.
Latest news
AUGUST 14, 2026AfghanistanDEATH PENALTYAfghanistan: UN experts warn against normalizing Taliban rule, urge action on human rights
APRIL 16, 2026AfghanistanDEATH PENALTYAFGHANISTAN: UN EXPERTS URGE TALIBAN TO REVOKE DECREE ON COURT RULES
A group of United Nations human rights experts has called on the Taliban to rescind a sweeping decree governing criminal court procedures, warning that it could further erode fundamental rights and legal protections in Afghanistan.
- APRIL 6, 2026AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
TALIBAN FLOGS 32 PEOPLE ACROSS AFGHANISTAN AMID SURGE IN CORPORAL PUNISHMENT
The Taliban publicly flogged 32 people, including women, in multiple provinces over the past three days, authorities said, amid a sharp rise in the group’s use of corporal punishment in recent months.
MARCH 24, 2026AfghanistanDEATH PENALTYAFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN SUPREME COURT PARDONS OVER 4,500 PRISONERS FOR EID AL-FITR
The Taliban’s Supreme Court has announced the release of 4,596 prisoners in observance of Eid al-Fitr.
MARCH 18, 2026AfghanistanDEATH PENALTYAFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN FLOG 21 PEOPLE IN KABUL IN ONE DAY
Taliban lashed 21 people in Kabul on March 15, 2026 on charges of drug-related offenses, according to a statement from the Taliban-run Supreme Court.
- MARCH 5, 2026AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
AFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN PUBLICLY FLOG 18 PEOPLE IN KABUL AND BAMYAN
Taliban authorities publicly flogged 18 people in Kabul and Bamyan provinces in early March 2026, Kabul Now reported on March 3, 2026.
FEBRUARY 24, 2026AfghanistanDEATH PENALTYAFGHANISTAN: UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT SAYS APPEASEMENT OF THE TALIBAN HAS FAILED
Annalena Baerbock, President of the United Nations General Assembly, described attempts to appease the Taliban as unsuccessful in the face of the most severe human rights violations
FEBRUARY 19, 2026AfghanistanDEATH PENALTYAFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN CARRY OUT PUBLIC FLOGGINGS OF WOMEN AND MEN IN GHOR AND PARWAN
Based on an official statement, the Taliban’s Supreme Court carried out public floggings of two women and two men on February 18, 2026, in the Ghor and Parwan provinces.
FEBRUARY 10, 2026AfghanistanDEATH PENALTYAFGHANISTAN: FORMER TOP JUDGE SAYS TALIBAN PENAL CODE INVITES RIDICULE FROM MUSLIM WORLD
A former senior judge of Afghanistan’s Supreme Court has sharply criticised the Taliban’s newly issued penal code, saying it contradicts core principles of Islamic law and risks turning Afghanistan into an object of criticism and ridicule across the Musli
- FEBRUARY 2, 2026AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
AFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN LEADER AUTHORISES KILLING OF 11 CATEGORIES OF PEOPLE UNDER NEW PENAL CODE
Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has authorised the killing of 11 categories of people under a newly endorsed Taliban penal code
- JANUARY 24, 2026AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
UN EXPERTS PUSH FOR CODIFYING TALIBAN GENDER DISCRIMINATION AS CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY
A group of United Nations experts on January 19, 2026 called on member states to recognize “gender apartheid” as a crime against humanity in a proposed international treaty
- JANUARY 22, 2026AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
AFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN FLOG THREE PEOPLE, INCLUDING WOMAN
Taliban have flogged three people, including a woman, in the northern province of Faryab after convicting them of what they described as “illicit relations” and fleeing home, Amu Tv reported on January 19, 2026.
- JANUARY 14, 2026AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
AFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN FLOG 37 PEOPLE IN UNDER A WEEK
Taliban have increased the use of corporal punishment at the start of the new year (2026), flogging at least 37 people in public across 10 provinces in less than a week, according to data from statements issued by their Supreme Court.
DECEMBER 31, 2025AfghanistanDEATH PENALTYAFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN FLOGGED MORE THAN 1,000 PEOPLE IN PUBLIC IN 2025, FIGURES SHOW
The Taliban publicly flogged more than 1,000 people across Afghanistan in 2025, including at least 150 women, according to data released by their Supreme Court
DECEMBER 28, 2025AfghanistanDEATH PENALTYAFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN COURT OVERTURNS DEATH SENTENCE AGAINST TEACHER IN PAKTIKA
A Taliban court in Paktika province has overturned the death sentence against Abdul Alim Khamosh, a teacher who had been detained on charges of “insulting the prophet of islam,”
- DECEMBER 24, 2025AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
AFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN PUBLICLY FLOGS NINE PEOPLE, INCLUDING FOUR WOMEN, IN BAMYAN AND KAPISA
The Taliban publicly flogged nine people, including four women, in Bamyan and Kapisa provinces on charges of “illicit relationships” and “adultery,” the group’s supreme court announced
DECEMBER 23, 2025AfghanistanDEATH PENALTYAFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN PUBLICLY FLOGS MAN AND WOMAN IN NANGARHAR FOR ‘ILLICIT RELATIONSHIP’
The Taliban publicly flogged a man and a woman in eastern Nangarhar province on December 10, 2025 after they were convicted of engaging in an “illicit relationship,” the group’s supreme court announced.
- DECEMBER 9, 2025AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
AFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN SAY DEATH SENTENCES ISSUED FOR TWO SONS OF MAN EXECUTED IN PUBLIC IN KHOST
Taliban police in the eastern province of Khost said on December 3, 2025 that two sons of a man executed in a public “qisas” killing on December 2 have also been sentenced to death
DECEMBER 3, 2025AfghanistanDEATH PENALTYAFGHANISTAN: 13-YEAR-OLD BOY CARRIES OUT PUBLIC EXECUTION OF MAN CONVICTED OF MURDER
A public execution carried out by the Taliban in the eastern province of Khost on December 2, 2025 was conducted by a 13-year-old boy, local sources told Amu, adding that the man executed had been accused of killing 13 members of the child’s family.
- NOVEMBER 19, 2025AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
AFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN FLOG MAN AND WOMAN IN PUBLIC
The Taliban publicly flogged a man and a woman in Kabul and Balkh provinces in recent days, underscoring the persistence of corporal punishment despite widespread international criticism.
- NOVEMBER 12, 2025AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
AFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN PUBLICLY FLOG 15 PEOPLE, INCLUDING A WOMAN, IN NANGARHAR AND GHOR
The Taliban’s Supreme Court on November 12, 2025 confirmed that 15 people, including a woman, were publicly flogged in two separate provinces of Afghanistan — Nangarhar and Ghor — in recent days.
- NOVEMBER 6, 2025AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
AFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN FLOGS OVER 240 PEOPLE IN THREE MONTHS, UN REPORTS
The Taliban publicly flogged at least 242 people across Afghanistan between July and September this year, including 48 women, one boy, and two girls, according to a new report by the UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
- OCTOBER 23, 2025AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
TALIBAN USES PUBLIC EXECUTIONS TO INSTIL FEAR AND CONTROL POPULATION, UN EXPERT SAYS
The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, has condemned the Taliban’s latest public execution,
- OCTOBER 18, 2025AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
AFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN PUBLICLY EXECUTE MAN CONVICTED OF MURDER IN BADGHIS
The Taliban on October 16, 2025 publicly executed a man convicted of murder in northwestern Afghanistan, marking the 11th such execution since the group’s return to power in 2021, according to the Taliban’s Supreme Court.
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 PENALTY
AFGHANISTAN: 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.