In a tweet posted on Sunday evening, November 13, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid indicated that this “mandatory” order came from the Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, after a meeting with a panel of judges.
Akhundzada, who has not been filmed or photographed in public since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, rules the country by decree from Kandahar in the south, the birthplace of the fundamentalist Islamist movement. “He scrutinizes the records of thieves, kidnappers and seditionists,” the spokesman wrote, quoting Akhundzada.
“These files in which all the conditions of sharia (Islamic law) have been met … you are obliged to apply” all the sanctions foreseen, he continued. The Taliban spokesman was unavailable on Monday to provide further details.
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The Supreme Guide refers to the crimes considered by Islamic law to be the most serious and for which different sentences are foreseen, including corporal punishment. They include adultery, falsely accusing someone of the latter crime, but also the consumption of alcohol, theft, banditry, apostasy and rebellion.
According to Islamic scholars, conviction for some of these acts requires a very high degree of proof, including, in cases of adultery, the confession or testimony of four adult Muslim men.
Upon their return to power, the Taliban promised to be more flexible in applying sharia law, but have largely reverted to the ultra-strict interpretation of Islam that marked their first stint in power (1996-2001). Then they publicly punished the perpetrators of theft, kidnapping or adultery, with penalties such as flogging, amputation or stoning.
Women, in particular, have seen their hard-won rights vanish over the past fifteen months and are increasingly excluded from public life. Most of them have lost their jobs or are on starvation wages to stay at home. Women are also prohibited from traveling unaccompanied by a male relative and must wear a burqa or hijab when leaving the house.
