The UN warns of a sharp increase in public executions in Afghanistan

On 22 October 2025, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, released a statement condemning the last public execution in Afghanistan and calling it in reality authorities to immediately impose a moratorium and abolish the use of the death penalty. The statement follows the in reality Afghanistan’s Supreme Court announced on October 16 that a man was publicly executed at a sports stadium in Badghis province after being convicted of murder. At least 11 people have been publicly executed since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, with half of those in 2025. UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett stressed: “The application of the death penalty anywhere is deeply worrying.

The use of public executions reflects a wider pattern of human rights degradation in Afghanistan. The Taliban takeover in August 2021 was followed by reports of gross human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, attacks on journalists and human rights defenders, gender persecution and gender apartheid, and more. The severe restrictions on human rights are to ensure that there is no viable opposition to the Taliban and that their reign could continue unabated. The Taliban also dismantled the independent legal system and replaced it with a in reality system that blatantly violates international standards. Apart from the specific targeting of legal professionals, the entire legal system in Afghanistan is collapsing. As was mentioned by UN experts in 2023, “There are no standard procedures or substantive laws in criminal or civil cases that police, judges or lawyers can follow. (…) Some specialized courts, including those dealing with the management of sexual and gender-based violence, were disbanded. (…) Laws and rules regarding legal process, judicial process suspended (…) Judicial independence has been abolished, as religious scholars have replaced judges. Key in reality Judicial positions have been filled mostly by Taliban members with basic religious training rather than legal experts.”

Public executions increase the seriousness of the situation in the country and are intended to spread fear among citizens. The year 2025 saw a significant increase in such executions. Indeed, on April 11, 2025, Afghanistan in reality Supreme Court was announced that four men had been publicly executed as part of the Taliban Willow (retaliation in kind – referring to religious law), punishments in the provinces of Badghis (2), Farah (1) and Nimroz (1).

Commenting on executions in Afghanistan, UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett reiterated concerns about the public nature of executions in Afghanistan, which not only dehumanize the condemned but also the society that is forced to witness them: “Under the Taliban, public executions and other cruel punishments are not only a horrific form of violence. He must be roundly condemned.” UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett called her in reality Authorities in Afghanistan to immediately halt all executions and establish a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, as a critical first step toward its complete abolition.

In addition to public executions, since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, the in reality Authorities have also reinstated flogging and other forms of corporal punishment, in violation of international human rights law. They are often imposed in cases of alleged sodomy, “illicit relations” and other acts considered by the Taliban to be crimes. In 2025, more than 200 such sentences have been imposed since the beginning of 2025.

The dire situation in Afghanistan will continue as the world turns a blind eye. The egregious human rights violations committed by the Taliban require comprehensive responses, including justice and accountability, at the domestic, regional and international levels.