Afghan Taliban Conducted Public Execution at Sports Stadium 0 10

The authorities of the Afghan Taliban movement carried out a public execution on Tuesday of a man convicted of killing 13 family members, including several children. According to the police, the sentence was carried out by one of the victims' relatives.

Tens of thousands of people witnessed the execution at a sports stadium in the eastern city of Khost. The Supreme Court of Afghanistan reported that this was already the eleventh public execution since the Taliban came to power in 2021 following the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops.

The death sentence was handed down by a first-instance court, then confirmed by an appellate court and the Supreme Court, with the final decision approved by the movement's leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.

According to the police in Khost, the convicted man was shot by a relative of the deceased. The investigation established that the man, along with accomplices, broke into the house and shot the entire family — nine children and their mother.

Relatives were offered a reconciliation option that would allow the convicted man to be spared, but they insisted on the death penalty, noted the Supreme Court.

Before the execution, the UN Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, called for it to be stopped.

"Public executions are inhumane, constitute cruel and unusual punishment, and violate international law," he wrote in a message on the X platform on Tuesday morning.

The United Nations has repeatedly criticized the Taliban for the practice of public executions, floggings, and stonings and has called for an end to such methods.

In October, Bennett emphasized that the use of the death penalty in Afghanistan "raises particular concern" as the Taliban-controlled justice system is "devoid of any semblance of independence or due process."

The authorities of the Afghan Taliban have imposed a strict interpretation of Sharia law. This includes the return of public executions, as well as a ban on women and girls receiving secondary and higher education and access to most forms of employment.