Taliban hang bodies from cranes as group vows to bring back amputations

The Taliban’s brutal methods are once again on display in Afghanistan following the exit of Western troops (Picture: AP/Twitter/@AhmadQasani)

WARNING: Graphic image content.

The grim reality of Taliban rule is becoming clearer by the day as the group prepares to reintroduce amputations and bodies were left swinging from cranes in town squares.

Four corpses were reportedly displayed in public in Herat, a city in the west of Afghanistan, after being killed in a gun battle with security forces.

In a video seen by Metro.co.uk but too graphic to publish, one of the dead men is seen dangling from a chain with a sign attached to his torso.

He was reportedly killed while taking part in a kidnapping, with the other three bodies displayed in different public areas.

The vile display comes after a founding Taliban member confirmed the barbaric practice of chopping off the hands and feet of criminals would return.

Mullah Nooruddin Turabi, who served as the chief enforcer of the group’s harsh interpretation of Islamic law when it was last in power, confirmed the punishment would return.

He told the Associated Press execution and amputations may be carried out in private, as opposed to the public displays which became a hallmark of the previous brutal regime.

The body of a man was left hanging from a crane in the main square of the city of Herat after he was reportedly shot by police (Picture: Emily Manley)

Despite being chased out of power 20 years ago, the Taliban once again has a firm grip on the country (Picture: AP)

Speaking from Kabul, he said: ‘Everyone criticised us for the punishments in the stadium, but we have never said anything about their laws and their punishments.

‘No one will tell us what our laws should be. We will follow Islam and we will make our laws on the Quran.’

The former mujahidin fighter, who lost an eye and a leg fighting the Soviets in the 1980s, called the policy ‘necessary for security’.

The Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in mid-August after it swept across the country and the Western-backed army and police force collapsed.

It previously governed the country between 1996 and 2001, a period defined by brutal oppression, the suppression of fundamental human rights and ties with terrorist groups.

Executions of convicted murderers were usually by a single shot to the head, carried out by the victim’s family, who had the option of accepting ‘blood money’ and allowing the culprit to live. 

Mullah Nooruddin Turabi, who led the religious police during the last Taliban government, has confirmed amputations and executions will return (Picture: AP)

For convicted thieves, the punishment was amputation of a hand. For those convicted of highway robbery, a hand and a foot were amputated.

The group has publicly vowed to oversee a less repressive government than its previous incarnation and has said it will retain the role of judges in the legal system, rather than hand total power to clerics.

It has promised to protect womens and minority rights and allow the use of mobile phones and television but reports from elsewhere in Afghanistan paint a different picture.

While the government in Kabul seeks to remould the group’s image, there are accusations of human rights abuses and reprisal attacks against people associated with the  previous administration.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8291209 https://ift.tt/3lRqwvi