On Wednesday, the Taliban announced the first public execution of an Afghan convicted of killing another man since they took power in Afghanistan last year.
The movement’s spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said in a press statement, “The Taliban authorities executed an Afghan convicted of killing another man, in the first public execution since they assumed power in Afghanistan last year,” according to the American Associated Press.
Mujahid explained that the execution took place in the western province of Farah in front of hundreds of spectators, and many senior Taliban officials.
He stressed that the decision to implement the death penalty was “taken with great caution”, after the approval of three of the highest courts in the country, and the leader of the Taliban, Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada.
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The executed man, Tajmir, from Herat province, was convicted of killing another man five years ago, and stealing his motorbike and mobile phone, while the victim is called Mustafa, from neighboring Farah province.
Many Afghan men use only one name.
Mujahid confirmed that the Taliban security forces arrested Tajmir after the victim’s family accused him of committing the crime, without mentioning the date of the arrest.
He pointed out that “Tajmir apparently confessed to committing the murder.”
On August 15, 2021, the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of foreign forces from the country and the flight of President Ashraf Ghani’s government officials abroad.
The first Taliban administration in Kabul was overthrown after the US military intervention in 2001 under the pretext of its involvement in sheltering al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was responsible for carrying out the September 11 attacks of the same year.
Although a year has passed since it assumed power in Afghanistan for the second time, the Taliban has not yet won international recognition, bearing in mind that ethnic, regional and sectarian divisions and political instability have disappeared from the country automatically.
The Taliban’s interim government, which calls itself the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” faces several challenges in terms of protecting human rights, as well as providing health, education, economic and agricultural services. It is also subject to international criticism because of its stance on women’s rights and girls’ education.
