Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has approved a new 119-article Criminal Procedure Code for Courts, issued on January 4 to regulate judicial proceedings in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
The move has triggered criticism from Afghan and international human rights groups, former officials and resistance bodies, with concerns that the code formalises discrimination and violates basic rights, Moneycontrol reported.
Article 9 and Legal Hierarchy
The most controversial element is Article 9, which human rights bodies have dubbed the “Taliban Code”. It divides citizens into four legal classes, determining punishment by social status rather than the gravity of the offence.
According to Afghan rights organisation Rawadari, religious scholars (mullahs) sit at the top, followed by elites such as tribal elders and commanders, then the middle class, and finally the lower class. Under the code, mullahs receive “advice” for offences, elites avoid jail, middle-class citizens may face prison, while lower-class individuals can face imprisonment and corporal punishment, including public flogging.
Rawadari warned that identical offences will now lead to different punishments based solely on class. Rights groups say the code effectively shields clerics from prosecution.
Former Afghan Ambassador to Austria Manizha Bakhtari said it creates “unequal legal classes where upper classes escape punishment through advice and warnings, while lower classes face the full force of discretionary punishment”.
Recognition of slavery and harsh punishments
The code also recognises slavery as a legal status, using the term ghulam or “slave”. Article 15 states that discretionary punishment (ta'zir) applies “whether the criminal is free or a slave”, while Paragraph 5 of Article 4 allows a “husband” or “master” to execute ta'zir punishments.
Rights bodies argue this enables institutionalised domestic coercion, particularly against women and children. They also said the code contradicts international human rights standards on equality before the law, presumption of innocence, prohibition of torture and the right to a fair trial. It relies heavily on confessions, offers no protection for defence lawyers and does not recognise the right to remain silent.
The Afghan International reported the code bans only physical violence causing “bone fractures” or “tearing of the skin”, permitting a range of corporal punishments.
The Supreme Council of National Resistance for the Salvation of Afghanistan called it “far worse than the Middle Ages”, while former Attorney General Mohammad Farid Hamidi described it as “a document proclaiming the conviction of all citizens”. The Afghanistan Women’s Justice Movement termed it “the legalisation of brutality”, and former spy chief Rahmatullah Nabil said “politicised religion and rigid interpretations offer no future for Afghanistan”.
UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett called the code “deeply troubling” and said he was reviewing it on human rights and Sharia grounds. Rawadari urged intervention by global bodies, including the UN andthe International Criminal Court.
