Afghan Taliban authorities publicly execute man for murder

A man convicted of murder was publicly executed Tuesday in eastern Afghanistan, the country’s Supreme Court said.

The man, identified as Mangal, was executed in front of a crowd at a sports stadium in Khost, the court said in a statement.

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The execution brought to 12 the number of men publicly put to death since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, according to an AFP tally.

He had been sentenced to “retaliatory punishment” for killing a man after his case was “examined very precisely and repeatedly,” the court said.

“The families of the victims were offered amnesty and peace, but they refused,” it said.

Authorities had urged people to attend the execution in official notices shared widely on Monday.

They said he was one of several attackers who opened fire on a house in January 2025, killing 10 people, including three women.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, said Tuesday -- before the public execution -- that such acts were “inhumane, cruel, and an unusual punishment, contrary to international law.”

“They must stop,” he said in a post on X.

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