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Taliban confirms first public lashings for Sharia law violators

Related Topics: Taliban, Logar

The Taliban confirmed this week that they have publicly flogged dozens of people who violated Sharia law, prompting a sharp response from the U.S. officials.

Three women and 11 men were flogged Wednesday after being found guilty of theft and “moral crimes,” a provincial official told Agence France-Presse.

“The maximum number of lashes for anyone was 39,” Qazi Rafiullah Samim, the head of information and culture for Logar province, south of Kabul, told the AFP.

“Honorable scholars, mujahideen, elders, tribal leaders and local people” were invited to the town’s Pul Alam’s football stadium to witness the floggings, the governor’s office told The Associated Press.