The Taliban staged three public executions in the past week, a stark contrast following months of inactivity.
“Our understanding of the situation just decreases daily; however, I would say the Taliban are interested in asserting their dominance over the Afghan people,” Bill Roggio, the Founding Editor of “The Long War Journal,” said.
“We have to remember their primary reason for existence is to impose sharia, or Islamic law, on the Afghan people,” Roggio added. “They view that as a number-one priority, and executions for various crimes – theft, or adultery or other crimes – that is a means for them to impose Sharia. I don’t believe anything they’re doing here is to send a message externally. This is the Taliban asserting their control over the Afghan people.”
Report from Fox News:
Courts convicted the three men of murder: The first man, identified as Nazar Mohammad from the Faryab province, killed one person; the other two had stabbed victims to death. Relatives of the victims shot the convicts while standing in arenas where thousands of people watched, The Associated Press reported.
The brother of the murdered man shot Nazar Mohammad five times with a rifle, according to a witness, who spoke on condition of anonymity and added that security around the stadium was tight. Three of the country’s highest courts and the Taliban supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, approved Mohammed’s execution.
Separate statements from the supreme court said a man and a woman convicted of adultery were flogged with 35 lashes each in northern Balkh province over the weekend. Two other people were given 30 lashes each in eastern Laghman province, also over the weekend, for allegedly committing immoral acts.
The State Department told Fox News Digital that it has “seen reports” of “three public executions in five days” and denounced such killings as “an affront to the dignity and human rights of all Afghans.”
“We continue to monitor the Taliban’s treatment of the people of Afghanistan,” a State Department spokesperson wrote in an email. “At every opportunity, we emphasize to the Taliban that their relationship with the international community is contingent upon their respect for the rights of all Afghans.”
