Horrified, Taliban Hang Body Of Suspected Kidnapper In Afghan City Square

Illustration of Hanging Pole (Photo: ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Taliban authorities in the western Afghan city of Herat killed four suspected kidnappers and hanged their bodies in public to discourage other criminals, local government officials said Saturday, September 25.

Herat Deputy Governor Sher Ahmad Ammar said the men kidnapped a local businessman and his son and would take them out of town. The kidnappers were spotted by patrols who set up checkpoints around the city.

A shootout ensued and killed the four alleged kidnappers. One Taliban soldier was injured. "Their bodies were taken to the square and hung in the city as a lesson to the other kidnappers," he said.

The two abductees were released unharmed or injured, he said. Mohammad Nazir, a resident of Herat, said he was shopping for food near Mostofiat Square in the city when he heard an announcement over a loudspeaker calling for people's attention.

"When I stepped forward, I saw them carrying the body in the transport truck, then they hung it on the tow truck," he said.

Footage of a bloodied corpse being swung over a crane was widely shared on social media. The note pinned to the man's chest read "This is punishment for the act of kidnapping".

No other bodies were seen, but social media posts suggested that others were hanged in other parts of the city. In an interview with the Associated Press published this week, senior Taliban figure Mullah Nooruddin Turabi said the group would impose punishments such as amputations and executions to deter criminals.

Despite international condemnation, the Taliban have said they will continue to impose swift and severe penalties on lawbreakers to stop crimes such as robbery, murder and kidnapping being widespread in Afghanistan. According to the official Bakhtar news agency, eight kidnappers were also arrested in a separate incident in the southwestern province of Uruzgan.