GENEVA (11 May 2023) – UN experts* today expressed alarm at a recent announcement by the de facto Supreme Court in Afghanistan sanctioning the use of punishments including stoning, flogging and burying under a wall.
“Stoning people to death or burying them under a wall constitutes torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment,” the experts said. “These cruel punishments are contrary to international law.”
On 4 May 2023, the de facto Deputy Chief Justice announced that courts across the country had sentenced 175 individuals to Qisas (retribution in kind) punishments and 37 to stoning. Other sentences included knocking down walls on four individuals and condemning 103 individuals to Hudood (crimes against God) punishments, such as lashing. The de facto Deputy Chief Justice did not specify a timeline for implementation of these sentences.