Dokument #1017749
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Autor)
Although information on reports of Taliban
punishment for apostasy could not be found among the sources
consulted by the DIRB, the following information may be of general
interest.
The New Encyclopaedia Britannica's
entry on Islam provides information on fixed Shari'a punishments
for specific crimes:
[f]or six specific crimes the punishment is fixed (hadd): death for apostasy and for highway robbery; amputation of the hand for theft; death by stoning for extramarital sex relations (zina) where the offender is a married person and 100 lashes for unmarried offenders; 80 lashes for an unproved accusation of unchastity (qadhf) and for the drinking of any intoxicant (1981, 33).
In Taliban-controlled areas, the Taliban
have established an Islamic state in which they are "applying a
strict interpretation of Islamic law derived from the Koran, which
is devoid of any secular influence" (The Middle East Dec.
1996, 5). Some of the Islamic laws strictly implemented include the
following: amputation of the hand for theft, stoning to death for
adultery (ibid., 6; AFP 6 Nov. 1996) and decapitation for murder
(ibid.); in public women must wear the burqa that covers
the entire body and are unable to leave the home without being
escorted by a male relative (The Middle East Dec. 1996,
5-6; The Economist 5 Oct. 1996, 22); women are not
permitted to work (The Middle East Dec. 1996, 5-6; AFP 3
Oct. 1996; DPA 26 Nov. 1996); girls' schools have been closed down
(ibid.; The Middle East Dec. 1996, 5-6; AFP 3 Oct. 1996);
men have been given six weeks to grow beards or face "severe
punishment" (ibid.; The Middle East Dec. 1996, 6; DPA 26
Nov. 1996); music, cinema, and television have been banned (The
Middle East Dec. 1996, 5; The Economist 5 Oct. 1996,
22); Muslims are required to pray five times daily at the mosque
and those who miss their prayers are punished (AFP 3 Oct. 1996;
The Middle East Dec. 1996, 6). According to the attached
Agence France Presse (AFP) report, those who miss their prayers
"are considered to be corrupt" (3 Oct. 1996), while The
Economist states they are labelled "infidels" (5 Oct. 1996,
22). On 2 October 1996, according to AFP, Kabul's "religious
police" ordered that any individuals who missed their prayers be
turned over to the Taliban authorities (3 Oct. 1996; 6 Nov. 1996).
A 26 November 1996 Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) report states that
60 people in Jalalabad were detained for "failing to pray in
mosques regularly"; according to this report, the Jalalabad
administration had decreed that men not attending mosques regularly
face a ten-day jail term (DPA 26 Nov. 1996).
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of
additional sources consulted in researching this Information
Request.
References
Agence France Presse (AFP). 6 November
1996. "Taliban Execute Two Men for Raping Children." (NEXIS)
______. 3 October 1996. Marc Lavine.
"Drivers Must Halt for Prayers, Buses Segregated–Taliban."
(NEXIS)
Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA). 26
November 1996. BC Cycle. "Taleban Detains 60 People for Skipping
Religious Duties." (NEXIS)
The Economist [London]. 5-11
October 1996. "Enter the Taliban: The Road to Koranistan."
The Middle East [London].
December 1996. No. 262. Peter Willems. "Afghanistan: Current
Affairs: War Without End."
The New Encyclopaedia
Brtiannica. 1989. 15th ed. Vol. 22. Edited by Philip W. Goetz.
Chicago: Encyclopaedia Briannica.
Attachments
Agence France Presse (AFP). 6 November
1996. "Taliban Execute Two Men for Raping Children." (NEXIS)
______. 3 October 1996. Marc Lavine.
"Drivers Must Halt for Prayers, Buses Segregated–Taliban."
(NEXIS)
Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA). 26
November 1996. BC Cycle. "Taleban Detains 60 People for Skipping
Religious Duties." (NEXIS)
The Economist [London]. 5-11
October 1996. "Enter the Taliban: The Road to Koranistan," pp.
21-22, 24.
The Middle East [London].
December 1996. No. 262. Peter Willems. "Afghanistan: Current
Affairs: War Without End," pp. 5-6.
Middle East International (MEI)
[London]. 25 October 1996. No. 536. G.H. Jansen. "Afghanistan's
Ignorant Rulers," p. 11.
The New Encyclopaedia
Brtiannica. 1989. 15th ed. Vol. 22. Edited by Philip W. Goetz.
Chicago: Encyclopaedia Briannica, pp. 32-33.
Additional Sources Consulted
Asian Survey [Berkeley,
Calif.]. Monthly. January-September 1996.
Current History [Philadelphia].
Monthly. January-December 1996.
DIRB. "Afghanistan: Amnesty
International" country file. 1996.
_____. Indexed Media Review.
Weekly. July-December 1996.
Foreign Broadcast Information
Service (FBIS) Daily Reports. June-mid-August
1996.
FBIS Internet.
The Herald [Karachi]. Monthly.
January-November 1996.
Keesing's Record of World
Events [Cambridge]. Monthly. January-September 1996.
The Middle East [London].
Monthly. January-December 1996.
Middle East International
[London]. Fortnightly. January-November 1996.
News From Asia Watch [New
York].
On-line search of media reports.