16 ‘alleged’ convicts were publicly flogged by the Taliban in Helmand Province, Hasht-e- Subh reports on February 2. Taliban-appointed Deputy Director of Information and Culture Department for Helmand, Mohammad Qasim Riaz, said on February 2, that these people were flogged on charges of committing robbery, having extramarital affairs and breaching social and moral principles. According to him, each of these people was given 30 to 39 lashes