Afghan couple stoned to death by the Taliban

Afghan Women - World News - Marie Claire

A couple who eloped together have been brutally killed by the Taliban after a request from their family

A 25-year-old man and 19-year-old woman who eloped together have been stoned to death in a shocking display of Taliban power.

The Afghan couple were brutally killed when their own families requested that the Taliban arrest the pair after the couple, who were engaged to other people, ran away together.

An Amnesty International spokesman said: ‘The stoning of this couple is a heinous crime. The Taliban and other insurgent groups are growing increasingly brutal in their abuses against Afghans.’

Nader Nadery, a senior commissioner on the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, agrees. Worryingly, he believes the attacks show ‘a sign of new confidence on the part of the Taliban in the application of their rules.’

In the last few years, Taliban officials have played down their brutal and bloody reputation associated with the 1990s in order to gather support from the public.

These executions, however, are the latest in a series of crimes that represent a renewed stronghold on the country.

The Taliban are now regularly exercising their powers, imposing their severe version of sharia law for social crimes.

Earlier this year, reports revealed that Islamic militants had whipped and then stoned to death a women accused of adultery.

A UN report last week indicated that civilian casualties in Afghanistan were up by 31%, and that the Taliban and other insurgents were culpable for 76% of these.

Despite this, some Afghans still refer to Taliban courts to preside over social disputes, believing that the government bodies are too corrupt and untrustworthy.

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Natalia is a health journalist with 14 years experience in the publishing industry. She has worked for a number of well known magazines and websites including Marie Claire, Woman&Home, Top Sante, Boots and The Telegraph. She likes to think she practices what she preaches when it comes to health and fitness. Her athletic prowess began early. A keen fencer for 13 years, she wielded an epée for Olympic Team GB during her teenage years. She likes to think she made sword-fighting cool before Game of Thrones came along! While working on her sporting performance with the team, she also participated in a lot of nutrition and psychology training, When it comes to time off, you’ll most likely find her up a mountain somewhere. It seems holidays have become a time for climbing several thousand feet, rather than chilling out. She’s now hiked eight of the major mountain ranges across four continents – including the Appalachians, the Smokies, the Sierra Nevadas (she spent her honeymoon hiking to the top of Half Dome), as well as hitting the summits of Snowdon, Pen-Y-Fan (Brecon Beacons), Table Mountain in South Africa, the Blue Mountains in Australia and the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. She’s also passionate about all things health, particularly vaccinations, and will happily jump on her soap box at any given opportunity to talk about their benefits to anyone who will listen!