Taliban Won't Rule Out Cutting Off Hands as Punishment

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

The Taliban are offering promises of a regime that will differ from the one that controlled Afghanistan in the 1990s, but a spokesperson wouldn't rule out suspected thieves being punished by having their hands cut off.

After forcibly taking over the country last weekend, the Taliban held a press conference on Tuesday where they said the new Afghanistan will be freer than the one they previously ruled. There will be no retribution for those who held government positions or helped American forces, and women would be allowed to work and attend school, but it would all occur under the confines of Sharia, or Islamic law.

Under the harsh interpretation of Islamic law that the Taliban followed when governing in the 1990s, thieves and suspected thieves had their hands and feet cut off. This often occurred in public, and at times the severed body part would be paraded before a crowd.

When NPR reporter A Martinez asked Suhail Shaheen, a Taliban spokesperson, if the punishment would be part of the Taliban's new rule, he left the door open to that possibility.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/taliban-wont-rule-out-cutting-off-hands-as-punishment/ar-AANsMHt

[louis-t]

1. Don't count on the 'new' government being any different

than the 'old' government.

[JohnSJ]

2. Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and a whole host of Islamic governments exercise the same brutality. Should

we be surprised that Afghanistan falls into that category?

[dalton99a]

4. +1

[dalton99a]

3. There will be public amputations, hangings and stonings.

[Klaralven]

5. If it's like Saudi Arabia, it is for repeat offenders and then rarely.

[Ferryboat]

6. Other cultures deal with crime differently than the USA.

Going to be flamed for this but....

In my community property crimes are rampant, gun violence is common. With little to no deterrence when caught perpetrators continue to reoffend.

Northern European countries rehabilitate those in the penal system to become productive citizens through job training, education or rehab. Whatever were doing is not working.

If the penalty is losing a hand pretty sure most would think twice

I was raised in the dark ages where I was spanked for misbehaving so I tend towards an eye for an eye.

[GoneOffShore]

7. Say hello to the new boss, same as the old boss.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

8. What happened to the kinder and gentler Taliban?

[Wingus Dingus]

10. It's a step up from head amputations.

Baby steps!

[Johnny2X2X]

9. Cherry picked that interview

The Taliban spokesman said all kinds of things about how women are going to work and go to school, and how there will be no reprisals against those who helped the US and they're not going to prevent people from leaving. Not that I trust them to do all of this. But then they focus on him saying it will be up to judges if this punishment still exists.

The Taliban is saying a lot of uncharacteristic things right now about respecting the rights of people, about not seeking revenge on anyone who helped America, and about generally providing a stable government. The US and our allies can have a lot of influence with the aid money we are holding up to help their government function. There's a lot of signs that this version of the Taliban is going to be a lot better than the version we accepted as legit in the 90s, but we have to hold their feet to the fire.