Three people were executed by gunfire in two sports stadiums in the presence of de facto court officials and members of the public during the last week of February 2024.

The first double execution took place on 22 February 2024 at a football stadium in the city of Ghazni. The two men, Syed Jamal and Gul Khan, who were convicted by the Taliban’s de facto Supreme Court of the murder of two victims in separate cases, were reportedly shot to death by the relatives of the victims.

The third execution was held on 26 February 2024 in a sports stadium in the city of Sheberghan. Nazar Muhammad, who was convicted of a murder in January 2022, was executed by gunfire in front of thousands of people, including the victim’s family.

IBAHRI co-chair and immediate past secretary general of the Swedish Bar Association, Anne Ramberg, said: “The recent public executions in Afghanistan, with three in less than one week, are appalling. The IBAHRI opposes the death penalty in all circumstances. Executions in public contribute an additional cruel, inhumane, and degrading layer to an already barbaric punishment, which is in violation of international human rights law. It also causes trauma for, and has a brutalising effect on, the witnesses of the execution and society as a whole.”

As a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Afghanistan has signed up to recognise the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family as the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.

Article 6 of the ICCPR enshrines the right to life, while Articles 14 and 7 protect the right to a fair trial and prohibit torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment respectively. The UN Human Rights Committee noted in its General Comment No 36 that public executions are contrary to Article 6 of the ICCPR, rendering the execution arbitrary in nature and also in violation of the right to life.

IBAHRI co-chair, Mark Stephens CBE, said: “The Taliban’s repeated use of public executions and disregard for fair trial and due process rights within the de facto judicial system are extremely concerning. These violations of international human rights law cannot be tolerated. The IBAHRI calls on the de facto authorities to introduce an immediate moratorium on executions and to take steps towards the abolition of the death penalty.”