Kabul –
A man convicted of murder was killed by his victim’s father in the first public execution since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan.
A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the man died in a crowded sports stadium in Farah province in southwestern Afghanistan.
The victim’s father shot the man three times during the execution.
Dozens of high-ranking Taliban witnessed the execution.
The executions come weeks after the country’s judges were ordered to fully enforce Sharia law.
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The Taliban’s supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, issued a decree last month ordering judges to hand down sentences ranging from public execution to amputation to stoning.
But the types of crimes and punishments have not been formally determined by the Taliban.
Several public floggings have also been carried out recently, including that of dozens of people in Logar province last month, which marked the first time the Taliban had carried out public executions.
According to Mujahid, the execution was attended by a number of judges, military personnel, senior ministers, including the minister of justice, the minister of foreign affairs and the minister of internal affairs.
Also present at the execution was Mohammed Khaled Hanafi, the minister of goodness and virtue in charge of enforcing the Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islamic law.
But Prime Minister Hasan Akhund was not present, according to the statement.
According to the Taliban, the executed man’s name was Tajmir, son of Ghulam Sarwar and a resident of Herat province.
Tajmir stabbed a man named Mustafa about five years ago.
He was later convicted by three Taliban courts and his sentence was approved by Taliban leader Mullah Akhundzada.
Before the executions were carried out, the Taliban announced the agenda to the public and “asked everyone to join us on the sports field.
The murder victim’s mother told the BBC that Taliban leaders had begged her to pardon the perpetrator, but she insisted on executing him.
“The Taliban came to me and begged me to forgive these infidels,” he said.
“They urged me to forgive this man for God’s sake, but I told them this man should be executed and buried just like he did my son.”
“This can be a lesson for others,” added the mother.
“If he is not executed, he will commit other crimes in the future.”
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United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed “deep concern about the executions,” according to spokeswoman Stephanie Tremblay.
“We call for a return to the moratorium on the death penalty” in Afghanistan, Tremblay said.
During the Taliban’s rule from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban was criticized for their frequent public executions, including executions that took place in Kabul’s National Stadium.
The Taliban had previously promised they would not repeat the brutal crackdown on women.
But since they took back power, women’s freedoms have been severely curtailed and a number of women have been beaten for standing up for their rights.
Currently, no country recognizes the Taliban government, and the World Bank withheld funds worth $600 million (9.3 trillion rupees) after the Taliban banned girls from returning to secondary school.
The United States also froze billions of dollars in funds held by Afghanistan’s central bank in accounts around the world.
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(nvc/nvc)
