An Afghan who murd£red a man and his heavily pregnant wife has been executed by a relative of the victims, under the Taliban’s retaliatory punishment system.

 

 

 

The man was executed in front of crowds at a sports stadium in Qala-i-Naw, the capital of Badghis province, the Supreme Court said in a statement.

 

 

 

 

It was the eleventh public execution since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, according to an AFP tally.

 

 

 

 

The man was sh0t three times by a relative of the victims in front of thousands of onlookers, witnesses told news agencies.

 

 

 

The man had been ‘sentenced to retaliatory punishment’ for shooting a couple.

 

 

 

‘The murderer k!lled two people, a man and his wife, who was around eight months pregnant,’ Matiullah Muttaqi, the information chief for Badghis province, said.

 

 

 

The execution followed a review by three courts and final approval from Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, he said.

 

 

 

‘The families of the victims were offered amnesty and peace but they refused,’ the Supreme court statement said.

 

 

 

‘Many people came to watch the execution, including the victims’ family, who exercised their right according to Islamic law,’ said Juma Khan, 36, who witnessed the event.

 

 

 

Official notices inviting Afghans to attend the execution were widely circulated on Wednesday.

 

 

 

Public executions were common during the Taliban’s first rule from 1996 to 2001, with most of them carried out in sports stadiums.