Three other women and 11 men are flogged by Taliban thugs who accuse them of theft and “moral crimes”.

Three women and 11 men were flogged by an Afghan court order on Wednesday after they were found guilty of theft and “moral crimes”, a provincial official said.

The floggings are among the first confirmed since the Taliban Supreme Leader this month ordered judges to fully apply Islamic Sharia law and said corporal punishment was mandatory for certain crimes.

Qazi Rafiullah Samim, head of information and culture for Logar province, told the AFP news agency that the flogging was not public.

“Fourteen people received discretionary sentences, including 11 men and three women,” he said.

“The maximum number of eyelashes for each was 39.”

Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada this month ordered judges to fully apply aspects of Islamic law, including public executions, stoning and flogging and amputation of limbs for thieves.

“Scrutinize the files of thieves, kidnappers and instigators,” he said, according to the Taliban chief spokesman.

“These files, in which all Sharia conditions of Hudud and Qisas are observed, you are obliged to implement them.”

Hudud refers to offenses for which corporal punishment is inflicted, while qisas translates as “retribution in kind” – basically an eye for an eye.

Qazi Rafiullah Samim, head of information and culture for Logar province, told the AFP news agency that the flogging was not public. “Fourteen people received discretionary sentences, including 11 men and three women,” he said

For months, social media has been flooded with videos and photos of Taliban militants summarily flogging people accused of various crimes.

However, this is the first time officials have upheld such a court-ordered ruling.

Akhundzada, who has not been filmed or photographed in public since the Taliban seized power in August 2021, rules by decree from Kandahar, the birthplace and spiritual heart of the movement.

During their first reign, which ended in late 2001, the Taliban regularly carried out public punishments, including floggings and executions at the national stadium.