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
- 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
- NOVEMBER 23, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
The International Red Cross said they have found between...
The International Red Cross said they have found between 400 and 600 bodies in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif following its capture by the Northern Alliance
- NOVEMBER 20, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
Four foreign journalists murdered in eastern Afghanistan...
Four foreign journalists murdered in eastern Afghanistan on November 19 were probably the victims of Osama bin Laden's al-Qa'ida network, an anti-Taliban commander said
- NOVEMBER 19, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
At the Qala-I-Gulai battlefield outside Kabul, at least...
At the Qala-I-Gulai battlefield outside Kabul, at least half of 30 dead fighters that the International Committee of the Red Cross found had been shot in the head, officials close to the investigation of the deaths said
- NOVEMBER 19, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
Reports from stragglers coming out of the besieged...
Reports from stragglers coming out of the besieged northern city of Kunduz said the Arab, Chechen, Uzbek and Pakistani volunteers who have been fighting for Bin Laden's cause are in control of the situation, and have summarily executed hundreds of people
- NOVEMBER 19, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
Four Western journalists were killed in Afghanistan...
Four Western journalists were killed in Afghanistan when a convoy of vehicles was ambushed
- NOVEMBER 19, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
President George W Bush will decide which terror suspects...
President George W Bush will decide which terror suspects are put on trial before controversial secret tribunals
- NOVEMBER 18, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
The Northern Alliance claimed that 300 Afghans who...
The Northern Alliance claimed that 300 Afghans who tried to flee the besieged northern city of Kunduz and defect from the Taliban were massacred by foreign volunteers they had once fought beside
- NOVEMBER 17, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
The United Nations said it had evidence "clearly indicating"...
The United Nations said it had evidence "clearly indicating" summary executions of unarmed civilians by Taliban and other warring factions in Afghanistan
- NOVEMBER 16, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
A Northern Alliance fighter described executing five...
A Northern Alliance fighter described executing five Taliban prisoners in revenge for his father and brother's death at Taliban hands
- NOVEMBER 16, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
Northern Alliance forces threatened to massacre up...
Northern Alliance forces threatened to massacre up to 6,000 foreigners fighting with the Taleban in the besieged province of Konduz
- NOVEMBER 16, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
Amnesty International is deeply troubled by the Military...
Amnesty International is deeply troubled by the Military Order signed by President George W
- NOVEMBER 16, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
US President George W
US President George W
- NOVEMBER 16, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
Asma Jahangir, specialist on extrajudicial, summary...
Asma Jahangir, specialist on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions for the 53-nation UN Human Rights Commission said reports of mass executions by warring factions in Afghanistan must be investigated properly and the perpetrators brought to just
- NOVEMBER 16, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
If captured, Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaeda terrorist...
If captured, Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaeda terrorist leaders could be executed by firing squad on an American warship or military base, according to the man who suggested having them tried by special military tribunals
- NOVEMBER 15, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
A war photographer told how he watched in horror as...
A war photographer told how he watched in horror as Northern Alliance troops executed a Taliban soldier
- NOVEMBER 15, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
Eight Western aid workers, locked in Afghan prisons...
Eight Western aid workers, locked in Afghan prisons and fearing for their lives, were freed by anti-Taliban fighters and spirited to safety aboard U
- NOVEMBER 14, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
Libyan leader Col Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi called on ousted...
Libyan leader Col Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi called on ousted Afghan President Borhanoddin Rabbani to rein in Northern Alliance troops in Kabul, the Libyan news agency Jana reported
- NOVEMBER 14, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
Pir Muhammad, an Northern Alliance commander, said...
Pir Muhammad, an Northern Alliance commander, said Taliban leaders in Kunduz executed five local commanders who were suspected of negotiating with the alliance
- NOVEMBER 13, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
The United Nations reported that more than 100 Taliban...
The United Nations reported that more than 100 Taliban fighters hiding in a school had been executed in Mazar-e-Sharif, which the Northern Alliance captured on November 9
- NOVEMBER 13, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
British Prime Minister Tony Blair called for the United...
British Prime Minister Tony Blair called for the United Nations to establish a presence in Kabul as soon as possible to fill the power vacuum left after the Taliban fled on the night of November 12
- NOVEMBER 13, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
The Northern Alliance defied the world and roared into...
The Northern Alliance defied the world and roared into Afghan capital Kabul
- NOVEMBER 12, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
The United Nations reported that more than 100 Taliban...
The United Nations reported that more than 100 Taliban fighters hiding in a school had been executed in Mazar-e-Sharif, which the Northern Alliance captured on November 9
- NOVEMBER 9, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
Australian, US and German special forces may mount...
Australian, US and German special forces may mount a risky operation to rescue the eight western aid workers being held hostage by the Taliban in Afghanistan
- NOVEMBER 9, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
Taliban fighters in Jalalabad, in the east, arrested...
Taliban fighters in Jalalabad, in the east, arrested 15 Afghan men who were suspected of spying