In Taliban-run Afghanistan, 13-year-old executes murderer of his family in packed sports stadium

A man convicted of murder was publicly executed on Tuesday (Dec 2) in eastern Afghanistan. What turned eyeballs was the fact that the execution was carried out by a 13-year-old boy whose family was killed by the man. The man, identified as Mangal, was executed in front of a crowd at a sports stadium in Khost of almost 80,000 people. The execution brought to 12 the number of men publicly put to death since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, according to an AFP tally.

The man was convicted of murdering 13 members of a family, including nine children. He, along with several other attackers opened fire on a house in January 2025, killing 10 people, including three women. Afghanistan's Supreme Court stated that the man had been sentenced to "retaliatory punishment" for killing a man after his case was “examined very precisely and repeatedly.” "The families of the victims were offered amnesty and peace, but they refused," it said. Authorities had urged people to attend the execution in official notices shared widely on Monday.

"In Khost Province, the divine order of Qisas (retaliation) was carried out on a murderer," said Afghan Supreme Court, adding, "At the conclusion of the gathering, prayers were made for the strengthening of national security, for the people's better access to their legitimate rights, and for the proper implementation of lslamic Sharia throughout the country." "The murderer, Mangal, son of Tala Khan, grandson of Rahmat Khan, was originally from the Sajank area of Said Karam district of Paktia province, and a current resident of the Kuzi Abukhani area of Alishero and Terezio district of Khost province. He had deliberately killed Abdul Rahman, son of Zabit, grandson of Ali Khan, an original and current resident of the Kuzi Abukhana area of Alishero and Terezio district of Khost," the court statement added.

Meanwhile, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, said Tuesday -- before the public execution -- that such acts were "inhumane, cruel, and an unusual punishment, contrary to international law". "They must stop," he said in a post on X. The chilling video of the public execution was widely shared on social media.