Published: October 2026 | Afghanistan LGBTIQ+ Organization (ALO)

Punished in Public examines the Taliban’s systematic use of public flogging, imprisonment, and criminalisation of alleged same-sex conduct in Afghanistan, and their relationship to the crime against humanity of gender persecution.

Drawing on official Taliban Supreme Court announcements, the report documents 102 public flogging incidents across 28 provinces between December 2022 and April 2026. These announcements reported the punishment of 118 individuals across various charges, including 38 incidents involving imprisonment. The report carefully distinguishes those specifically accused of same-sex conduct from individuals punished for other alleged offences.

The investigation examines the Taliban’s increasingly repressive legal framework, the threat of execution under the January 2026 criminal rules, and the broader system of gender-based persecution affecting LGBTIQ+ Afghans.

Through detailed findings, legal analysis, and recommendations, ALO calls for international accountability, stronger protection for LGBTIQ+ Afghans, and the preservation of evidence of Taliban abuses.