Taliban carries out public double execution in Afghanistan stadium amid international outcry
23 February 2024 13:13
The Taliban's Supreme Court in Afghanistan decided that two men accused of crimes should face the ultimate penalty. The death sentence was enacted under horrifying circumstances. In a facility designed primarily as a venue for sporting events, thousands of spectators filled the seats.
As reported by NBC News, the two men publicly executed were Syed Jamal from the central province of Wardak and Gul Khan from Ghazni. Three lower courts, along with the supreme leader of the Taliban, Hibatullah Akhundzada, ordered their executions as retribution for alleged crimes. Both men were found guilty of murder by knife in September 2017 and January 2022 respectively.
On a Thursday, people crowded in front of the Ghazni city's stadium in the Ali Lala district, many intent on witnessing the public execution. Local police spokesperson, Abu Abu Khalid Sarhadi, revealed that 15 bullets were fired. One man was hit eight times, and the other seven. Ambulances then removed their bodies.
The convicts were shot in the back. Earlier, a Supreme Court representative publicly read the death sentence signed by the concealed supreme Taliban leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada.
Taliban undertakes public double execution in the stadium
"These two individuals were convicted for the crime of murder. After two years of trial in the courts, the sentence was confirmed," the Supreme Court official, Atiqullah Darwish, announced.
These executions mark the third and fourth public ones since the Taliban seized control in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of US and NATO troops.
The United Nations has strongly criticised the Taliban for enacting public executions, floggings, and stonings since gaining power. They have urged the country to stop these practices. The Taliban frequently engaged in such cruel acts during their earlier reign in Afghanistan in the late 1990s.
