It took one year for the Taliban government to reverse two decades of human rights progress in Afghanistan, accused Amnesty International (AI) in a report published today, denouncing “widespread impunity” for crimes such as torture and revenge killings.
“What followed the fateful day of August 15, 2021 is a human rights crisis on an unprecedented scale,” AI points out in a report documented with interviews and photographs.
“A year ago, the Taliban made public commitments to protect and promote human rights. However, how quickly they are dismantling 20 years of gains is staggering. Any hopes for change have evaporated as they seek to rule through violent repression with complete impunity,” said Yamini Mishra, AI director for South Asia.
The “sustained attack” on human rights includes persecuting minority groups, violently suppressing peaceful protests, taking away women’s rights and using extrajudicial executions and disappearances to “spread fear among Afghans”, reveals the report “The Taliban regime : A Year of Violence, Impunity and False Promises”.
There have been hundreds of extrajudicial killings, with bodies found with gunshot wounds or signs of torture, and dozens of people have disappeared because of their work under the previous government or because of suspected resistance against the Taliban.
Torab Kakar, 34, told Amnesty International that despite having a “letter of pardon” from the Taliban, his friend Jalal, who had served in the Afghan National Defense Security Forces (ANDSF), was taken to a undisclosed by Islamic fundamentalists.
Women face increasing restrictions, are no longer able to move freely, have lost their right to education and dozens have been detained and tortured for holding peaceful protests demanding their rights.
The AI investigation points to the use of excessive force in several major cities by security forces to disperse peaceful protests, beating and shooting unarmed protesters.
A protester from Herat province reported the injuries inflicted by security forces: “I saw a man lying in a pool of blood in a ditch in the street. I believe he had been killed… My hand was fractured, but I did not go to the hospital, fearing he might be arrested for participating in the protests.”
Press activity has been severely limited in Afghanistan since the Taliban regained power and in the last year, more than 80 journalists have been arrested and tortured for reporting on peaceful protests.
In the persecution of ethnic and religious minorities, the human rights organization reports reports of evictions of non-Pashtuns across the country, especially Hazaras, Turkmens and Uzbeks, for the Taliban to reward their followers with land taken from them.
“To prevent the human rights crisis in Afghanistan from escalating further, the international community must take significant steps to hold the Taliban accountable for these crimes,” urges Yamini.
Amnesty International calls on the Taliban to immediately stop committing serious human rights violations and crimes and, as Afghanistan’s de facto authorities, to restore and promote the rights of the Afghan people.
