Taliban make 13-year-old boy execute relatives’ murderer in front of 80K people at stadium
A 13-year-old boy was forced by the Taliban to carry out a public execution in front of a stadium of 80,000 people in Khost, Afghanistan. The boy shot a man named Mangal, who had been convicted of murdering 13 members of his family.
Video shared online showed large crowds cheering as the teenager carried out the execution, a spectacle the United Nations described as “inhumane” and “contrary to international law.”
The execution was carried out under Sharia law in a punishment known as Qisas, or “retaliation,” which follows an “eye for an eye” principle. “The family of the victim was offered the option of forgiveness and retaliation, but … they refused and insisted on Qisas,” the Supreme Court of Afghanistan said in a statement posted on social media. While the statement did not specify who executed Mangal, Afghanistan news outlet AMU TV reported that it was a 13-year-old relative of the victims.
Mangal’s two sons are also scheduled to be executed for assisting him in the killings, though their executions have been delayed until other relatives of the victims return to the region. This marks the 11th public execution since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 following the withdrawal of US forces that left 13 troops dead. According to AMU TV, it was the largest of these executions.
Following the execution, the Supreme Court said prayers were held “for the strengthening of national security, for the people’s better access to their legitimate rights, and for the proper implementation of Islamic Sharia throughout the country.”
United Nations’ Special Rapporteur for Afghanistan Richard Bennett had previously called for the execution to be stopped, tweeting that “public executions are inhumane, a cruel and unusual punishment, and contrary to international law.”
Mangal was convicted, along with others, of entering a family home in Khost province and killing an extended family, including nine children and their mother, according to Khost police spokesman Mustaghfir Gorbaz. During their previous rule in the late 1990s, the Taliban frequently carried out public executions, floggings, and stonings.
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