Afghanistan sees another public execution under Taliban, turning stadium into death theater
6:41 AM EST, February 23, 2024
The Supreme Court of the Taliban in Afghanistan decreed that these two men accused of crimes should face the harshest of penalties. The death sentence was conducted under appalling conditions, turning a facility, otherwise meant to host sporting events, into an execution park as thousands sat as spectators.
According to a report by NBC News, the publicly executed pair were Syed Jamal, originating from the central Wardak province, and Gul Khan of Ghazni. These executions were ordered by three lower courts and the paramount leader of the Taliban, Hibatullah Akhundzada, as retribution for their alleged crimes. Both men had been convicted of knife murders committed in September 2017 and January 2022, respectively.
Last Thursday saw a throng gather in front of the stadium, located in Ghazni city's Ali Lala district. The event drew an intrigued crowd keen to witness the public killing. Abu Abu Khalid Sarhadi, a local police spokesperson, revealed that a gloomy hail of 15 bullets was fired, with one man absorbing eight and the other seven bullets before their bodies were carted away by ambulances.
The convicted men met their ill-fated end with shots to the back, following a recitation of the death sentence by a Supreme Court representative. The sentence had been endorsed by Hibatullah Akhundzada, the elusive high-ranking leader of the Taliban.
Taliban Conducts Public Double Execution in Stadium
"These two individuals were sentenced for the crime of murder. After two years of trial in the courts, the execution was authorized," disclosed the Supreme Court official Atiqullah Darwish.
These incidents marked the third and fourth public execution to have taken place since the Taliban usurped control in Afghanistan, subsequent to the withdrawal of the US and NATO troops.
The United Nations has denounced the Taliban for sanctioning practices such as public executions, floggings, and stonings since they came to power. The UN has urged Afghanistan to halt such practices. The Taliban, during their previous incumbency in Afghanistan in the late '90s, habitually undertook such heinous practices.
