ISLAMABAD: The Taliban lashed three women and nine men in front of hundreds of spectators in a provincial sports stadium Wednesday, signaling the religious group’s resumption of a brutal form of punishment that was a hallmark of their rule in the 1990s.
The office of the governor of Logar province, south of the capital of Kabul, invited “honorable scholars, elders, tribal leaders and local people” to the stadium in the town of Pul Alam in Logar. The invitations for the 9 a.m. event were extended via social media.
Those being punished received between 21 and 39 lashes each, after being convicted in a local court of theft and adultery, said an official in the governor’s office who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to share details with the media.
The official said hundreds of people attended the lashings and that a ban was imposed on taking photos and video.
Such public lashings, as well as public executions and stonings for purported crimes, were common during the first period of Taliban rule, from 1996 until 2001 when the militants were driven out in a US-led invasion.
After a 20-year insurgency, the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, coinciding with the withdrawal of US and other foreign troops from the country.
In the immediate aftermath of their second takeover of the country, the Taliban promised to be more moderate and allow for women’s and minority rights. Instead, they have restricted rights and freedoms, including a ban on girl’s education beyond the sixth grade.
The first confirmed public lashing since last year’s Taliban takeover took place Nov. 11, when 19 men and women received 39 lashes each for alleged theft, adultery and running away from home.
The resumption of the practice underscored the Taliban’s intention of sticking to their strict interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia.
The former insurgents have struggled in their transition from warfare to governing amid an economic downturn and the international community’s withholding of official recognition.
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Taliban lash 12 people before stadium crowd in Afghanistan
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Taliban lash 12 people before stadium crowd in Afghanistan
- Hundreds of people attended the lashings and that a ban was imposed on taking photos and video
- Those being punished received between 21 and 39 lashes each
Swiss bar owner released on bail after deadly New Year’s fire, prompting outcry
- Italy’s PM Giorgia Meloni calls decision ‘insult’ to victims’ families
- Victims’ families concerned about evidence disappearing
GENEVA: The owner of a Swiss bar that was engulfed in a deadly New Year’s Day fire was released from detention on bail on Friday, court authorities said, prompting anger and incomprehension from victims’ families and Italy’s prime minister.
Jacques Moretti and his wife Jessica are under investigation for negligent homicide and other crimes linked to the blaze that killed 40 people and injured more than 100, many of them teenagers. Many of the survivors are still hospitalized with severe burns in hospitals across Europe.
Jacques Moretti was detained on January 9. His bail arrangements include a 200,000 Swiss franc ($253,485) payment and an order to report daily to a police station, the court said.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the decision to release him “an affront to the memory of the victims of the New Year’s Eve tragedy and an insult to their families, who are suffering from the loss of their loved ones.”
“The Italian government will demand answers from the Swiss authorities about what happened,” she wrote on X. Six of the dead were Italian as were 10 of those injured.
Lawyers for the victims and their families also said they were struggling to understand the court order and said their clients were concerned about evidence disappearing.
“My clients note that once again no consideration has been given to the risk of collusion or the disappearance of evidence — a risk that greatly worries them and jeopardizes the integrity of the proceedings,” said Romain Jordan, a Swiss lawyer for over 20 families of victims.
The owners have both expressed grief over the tragedy and said they would cooperate with prosecutors.
“Jessica and Jacques Moretti will both continue to comply with all requests from the authorities,” their lawyers said in a written statement after the release order.
Prosecutors said they had interviewed the bar owners about safety issues and renovations of Le Constellation bar during two hearings that had each lasted more than 10 hours.
They had also ordered searches, secured evidence and seized assets, they added.
Jacques Moretti and his wife Jessica are under investigation for negligent homicide and other crimes linked to the blaze that killed 40 people and injured more than 100, many of them teenagers. Many of the survivors are still hospitalized with severe burns in hospitals across Europe.
Jacques Moretti was detained on January 9. His bail arrangements include a 200,000 Swiss franc ($253,485) payment and an order to report daily to a police station, the court said.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the decision to release him “an affront to the memory of the victims of the New Year’s Eve tragedy and an insult to their families, who are suffering from the loss of their loved ones.”
“The Italian government will demand answers from the Swiss authorities about what happened,” she wrote on X. Six of the dead were Italian as were 10 of those injured.
Lawyers for the victims and their families also said they were struggling to understand the court order and said their clients were concerned about evidence disappearing.
“My clients note that once again no consideration has been given to the risk of collusion or the disappearance of evidence — a risk that greatly worries them and jeopardizes the integrity of the proceedings,” said Romain Jordan, a Swiss lawyer for over 20 families of victims.
The owners have both expressed grief over the tragedy and said they would cooperate with prosecutors.
“Jessica and Jacques Moretti will both continue to comply with all requests from the authorities,” their lawyers said in a written statement after the release order.
Prosecutors said they had interviewed the bar owners about safety issues and renovations of Le Constellation bar during two hearings that had each lasted more than 10 hours.
They had also ordered searches, secured evidence and seized assets, they added.
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