9/6/2006
UN Rights Expert Deplores Public Execution By Taliban

A UN expert has condemned “in very strong terms” the reported public execution by Afghanistan’s ousted Taliban regime of an alleged murderer in Daikundi province.

 “The return to the practice of making a public spectacle of the execution harks back to the worst excesses of the old regime,” said Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Leandro Despouy. “The administration of justice is a function that clearly belongs to the State of Afghanistan. It is entirely unacceptable for a non-state entity, such as the Taliban, to exercise a state function by trying and punishing an alleged criminal,” he added.

Special Rapporteurs are unpaid experts serving in an independent personal capacity, who will now report to the newly established Human Rights Council.