The Taliban have ordered the stoning to death of dozens of people and the execution of others by collapsing walls onto them, as the brutal regime continues to impose itself on its people. Figures published by the Taliban’s Supreme Court show that more than 1,000 people were publicly flogged across Afghanistan in 2025, including at least 150 women.

The data indicates a sharp increase in the use of corporal punishment, with Kabul recording the highest number of cases. According to figures published by the Taliban, 1,030 people were whipped last year for offences such as stealing and acts deemed to contravene Islamic law. The figure is almost double the previous years and represents a continued increase in the use of corporal punishment since the regime reclaimed power in 2021.

As well as public floggings, the Taliban have reintroduced public executions, a practice that became synonymous with its rule prior to the invasion of coalition troops in 2001.

In one case in the district of Khost, a man convicted of murder was executed in front of tens of thousands of spectators, with his executioner believed to have been a 13-year-old boy.

The man was shot to death in a sports stadium in eastern Afghanistan in front of a crowd of around 80,000 people, with the UN condemning the killing as “inhuman and cruel”.

The convicted murderer, called Mangal, and two others had been found guilty of killing 13 members of the teenager’s family, including several children and women.

“Today a murderer was sentenced to retaliation punishment (Qisas) in the sport stadium in Khost province,” a statement from the Supreme Court of Afghanistan said on X.

“The family of the victim was offered the option of forgiveness and retaliation, but after they refused and insisted on Qisas, the order for the implementation of the divine ruling of Qisas was issued.

“At the conclusion of the gathering, prayers were made for the strengthening of the national security, for the people’s better access to their legitimate rights, and for the proper implementation of Islamic Sharia throughout the country.”

The Taliban are reported to have banned spectators from bringing mobile phones into the stadium in an attempt to prevent the execution from being filmed.

The execution was the 11th carried out under the Taliban’s interpretation of Sharia law, a system in which offences such as murder, adultery and theft can carry penalties including death, amputation or public flogging.

Records spanning the last four years suggest the Taliban have relied heavily on capital punishment, issuing at least 178 execution orders under the doctrine of qisas.

The same data also lists 37 death sentences by stoning and four executions carried out by demolishing walls onto those convicted.

The Taliban’s first public execution since returning to power was in December 2022 and was carried out by the victim’s father in front of a crowded stadium in Farah province.