Afghanistan: Taliban execute man accused of murder

The Taliban administration in Afghanistan has executed a man who was accused of murder in western Afghanistan. This marks the first time the insurgent group carried out an execution since retaking control of the country last year.

The spokesperson for the Taliban said that the group had executed a man accused of murder in Farah province in western Afghanistan. Senior Taliban officials were present during the execution, such as acting interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, acting deputy prime minister Abdul Ghani Baradar, and Afghanistan’s chief justice, acting foreign minister, and acting education minister.

Spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that the man was executed by the victim’s father, who shot him three times.

The man was accused of fatally stabbing another man back in 2017. The case was since probed by three courts and was authorized by the Taliban’s Supreme Spiritual Leader, who is currently based in Kandahar province.

The United Nations Mission in Afghanistan and the spokesperson for the UN human rights office all issued statements condemning the execution while calling on the insurgent group to place a moratorium on the death penalty. UN human rights office spokesperson Jeremy Lawrence said the death penalty was “incompatible with fundamental tenets of human rights, and its use cannot be reconciled with full respect for the right to life.”

The deputy spokesperson for the Taliban, Yusuf Ahmadi, said that the family members of the victim had the right to seek retributive justice.

“If they want to forgive, they can forgive. If they want to execute, they can execute…retribution is a divine order and must be implemented,” said Ahmadi in response to the UN comments.

On Tuesday, the International Olympic Committee warned the insurgent group that allowing women and young girls safe access to sports was a condition for Afghanistan to be represented in the upcoming 2024 Paris Games. The warning comes as female participation in sports was crushed when the insurgent group retook control of the country in 2021.

The IOC executive board expressed “serious concern” as well as “strongly condemned” the increasingly restrictive policies on women and girls imposed by the hardline Taliban following a meeting in Lausanne where a full report on the Olympic and sports movement in Afghanistan was given.