Taliban Displays Kidnapper's Corpse Hanging from Crane... Is 'Politics of Fear' Becoming Reality?

Taliban in downtown Afghanistan [Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] The Taliban, who have taken control of Afghanistan, reportedly hung the bodies of killed kidnappers from a crane in the central square of Herat in the west.

On the 25th (local time), the AP news agency reported that authorities in the western Afghan city of Herat displayed four individuals identified as kidnappers in front of the public.

According to the report, a Taliban commander shouted at the residents in the square to watch the scene, and one of the kidnappers was lifted by a crane. The bodies of the other three were moved to another square in Herat and displayed.

Photos showing the scene were also released through social networking services (SNS). In the photos, a sign attached to the body hanging from the crane reads, "This is how kidnappers are punished."

Taliban officials stated that they rescued a kidnapped businessman and his son that day, and the four kidnappers were killed after a shootout. A Taliban commander explained that the reason for displaying the bodies in this way was "to warn all criminals that they are not safe."

After the Taliban reoccupied Afghanistan, some expressed concerns about the possible revival of harsh punishments along with the suppression of women's rights.

Mullah Nuruddin Turabi, who served as the Taliban's Minister of Justice and head of the Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice during their first rule in Afghanistan, recently told AP in an interview that "although not publicly, executions and amputations of hands and feet will be reinstated."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.