Officials in northern Afghanistan say a man and a woman were publicly stoned to death by the Taliban over an alleged love affair.
Mohammad Omar, the governor of Kunduz Province, said the man and woman, both in their 20s, were stoned to death at a bazaar on August 15.
The man was apparently either engaged or married to someone else and the woman was also engaged.
The Taliban earlier this month publicly beat and then killed a pregnant widow in western Afghanistan for committing adultery.
Nader Nadery of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission described the incidents as "extra-judicial killings" and a "crime against humanity."
"What happened in these cases is not coming through courts," Nadery told RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan. "It's arbitrary decisions by a bunch of mostly unaware, not religious, scholars and mostly armed militias and men who fight against the government -- or international forces or the people -- just in order to establish fear and send a message of intimidation to people."
The reported killings follow a call by Afghan clerics for a return to Shari'a punishments.
with agency reports
Mohammad Omar, the governor of Kunduz Province, said the man and woman, both in their 20s, were stoned to death at a bazaar on August 15.
The man was apparently either engaged or married to someone else and the woman was also engaged.
The Taliban earlier this month publicly beat and then killed a pregnant widow in western Afghanistan for committing adultery.
Nader Nadery of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission described the incidents as "extra-judicial killings" and a "crime against humanity."
"What happened in these cases is not coming through courts," Nadery told RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan. "It's arbitrary decisions by a bunch of mostly unaware, not religious, scholars and mostly armed militias and men who fight against the government -- or international forces or the people -- just in order to establish fear and send a message of intimidation to people."
The reported killings follow a call by Afghan clerics for a return to Shari'a punishments.
with agency reports