On Thursday, two men found guilty of murder were publicly executed in a football stadium in Eastern Afghanistan, as witnessed and reported by an AFP journalist present at the location.
In Ghazni city, two men were executed through numerous gunshots to the back. This occurred after a death warrant, signed by the Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, was publicly read by Supreme Court official Atiqullah Darwish.
#Taliban conducts a double public execution at a stadium in southeastern Afghanistan. Here's what we know so far
READ: https://t.co/9p5trYbyg4#Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/XrIV7RTHk7
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“These two people were convicted of the crime of murder,” Darwish said. “After two years of trial in the courts of the country, the order has been signed.”
The executions were witnessed by a gathering of thousands of people in the stadium.
The families of the victims of the convicted men, which included women and children, were in attendance. They were given the option to grant a last-minute reprieve to the condemned individuals. However, in both instances, they chose not to exercise this option.
In accordance with the Taliban government’s enforcement of Islamic law, relatives were given the option to perform the execution themselves. However, after their refusal, the execution of both men was carried out by members of the security forces.
The individuals who were executed, Said Jamal and Gul Khan, were found guilty of committing murders using a knife in September 2017 and January 2022 respectively, as per a statement from the Supreme Court.
The statement revealed that an “extraordinary investigation” into their cases was conducted by Akhundzada. Since its rise to power in 2021 and the subsequent implementation of its stringent version of Islamic law, the Taliban administration in Kabul has yet to receive official recognition from any other government.
In 2022, Akhundzada directed judges to enforce all facets of Islamic law, which includes the “eye for an eye” retributions, also referred to as “qisas”.
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