Taliban-controlled Afghanistan will ‘crush gay men to death with 10ft walls’, warns judge

A Taliban judge has spoken of the horrific deaths that will be inflicted on gay people as Sharia law returns to Afghanistan following the withdrawal of US and Nato troops.

The fundamentalist Islamist militia was forced from power when US-led forces invaded in 2001, but are now reported to be retaking many districts as foreign troops retreat.

The Taliban claim they have already taken over 80 per cent of the country; while this is likely an exaggeration, the BBC Afghan service estimates that around a third of Afghanistan is indeed under Taliban control, with strict Sharia law punishments reimposed throughout these areas.

“That was our goal and always will be,” said Gul Rahim, a Taliban judge who spoke frankly about his vision of justice to the German newspaper Bild.

His face remained impassive as he detailed the shockingly cruel penalties for gay people in Taliban territory. “There are only two penalties for gays: Either stoning or he has to stand behind a wall that falls on him. The wall must be 2.5 to 3 meters high,” he said.

The death penalty for homosexuals is derived from interpretations of the Quran, Islam’s holy book, and the Hadith, the accounts of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad.

The accounts differ on the method of killing, while some suggest lesser penalties for homosexual acts, depending on the circumstances.