Police in northwestern Afghanistan say Taliban fighters publicly executed a pregnant Afghan woman after accusing her of committing adultery.
A senior police officer, Abdul Jabar Saleh, in Baghdis Province said the woman was given 200 lashes before being shot in the head on August 8 in the province's remote Qades district -- an area under the control of the Taliban.
Saleh said Bibi Sanawbar, a 40-year-old widow, was kept in prison for three days before being flogged and executed.
Saleh said Mullah Mohammad Yousif, a Taliban commander in the district, sentenced the woman to death and then personally carried out the killing.
Sima Samar, the head of Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission, told RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan that the incident amounts to an extrajudicial killing.
"This is a clear violation of human rights. Even if she really was accused of such an act, she should have been brought to court. We have courts and we could have dealt with her legally," Samar says. "Not everyone is a judge. A commander cannot perform the role of a judge."
When in power from 1996 until 2001, the Taliban staged public executions and amputations of those accused of violating its strict interpretation of Islamic law.
The Taliban has denied carrying out the killing.
with agency reports
A senior police officer, Abdul Jabar Saleh, in Baghdis Province said the woman was given 200 lashes before being shot in the head on August 8 in the province's remote Qades district -- an area under the control of the Taliban.
Saleh said Bibi Sanawbar, a 40-year-old widow, was kept in prison for three days before being flogged and executed.
Saleh said Mullah Mohammad Yousif, a Taliban commander in the district, sentenced the woman to death and then personally carried out the killing.
Sima Samar, the head of Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission, told RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan that the incident amounts to an extrajudicial killing.
"This is a clear violation of human rights. Even if she really was accused of such an act, she should have been brought to court. We have courts and we could have dealt with her legally," Samar says. "Not everyone is a judge. A commander cannot perform the role of a judge."
When in power from 1996 until 2001, the Taliban staged public executions and amputations of those accused of violating its strict interpretation of Islamic law.
The Taliban has denied carrying out the killing.
with agency reports