Afghan officials today said that the Taliban publicly flogged and then executed a pregnant Afghan widow accused of adultery in western Afghanistan. The 47-year-old woman, identified as Sanam Gul was killed in Badghis province two days ago, said Ashrafuddin Majidi, the provincial governor's spokesman. The widow was kept in captivity for three days before she was shot dead by a local Taliban commander.
Talking to reporters, deputy provincial police chief Ghulam Mohammad Sayeedi said that Sanam was first punished with 200 lashes in public before being shot in the head. "She was shot in the head in public while she was still pregnant," Sayeedi said.
The execution was carried out by Sayeedi said a local Taliban commander, added Mohammad Yousuf. The woman's body was dumped in an area under government control.
But a Taliban spokesman Qari Yosuf Ahmadi rejected claims that the militia was responsible for Sanam’s execution. "We have not done anything like that in Badghis or any other province," said Ahmadi. He said that report is nothing more than a "propaganda" by foreigners and the Western-backed Afghan government.
On his part, the deputy head of the religious council for western Afghanistan, Mohammad Kabaabiani, said the execution was not in accordance with Islamic principles. Head of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission in western Afghanistan, Abdul Qadir Rahimi, condemned the killing.
"Any such trial is unacceptable and is a violation of human rights. All trials must take place in an authorized court observing every single measure of justice," said Rahimi.
