The new Afghan Penal Procedure Code legalizes domestic violence, criminalizes women seeking protection from abuse, institutionalizes corporal punishment and torture, recognizes slavery, imposes the death penalty for multiple offenses without fair trial guarantees, and grants husbands discretionary authority to punish wives for disobedience.

Omissions

• The MEP did not cite any specific source for the claims, though the document was first exposed by the Afghan-run human rights organization Rawadari.
• The document is described as an 'unofficial, highly restricted 58-page penal code' — its precise legal status within Afghanistan's fragmented judicial system remains debated.
• Some of the most severe interpretations (e.g., 'recognizes slavery') are legal analyses by human rights organizations; the exact textual provisions of the code have not been independently published in full translation.
• All available sources were published between January and March 2026, after the code's quiet enactment but before the MEP's statement on 2026-05-20 — the MEP could have known these sources.

Sources

• PrimaryOHCHR (UN Human Rights Office)The Taliban's increasing use of judicially-sanctioned corporal punishment, inflicted in public, often for so called moral crimes. UN experts condemn the Taliban's surging use of corporal punishment.
• PrimaryRawadari Human Rights OrganizationRawadari has recently obtained a copy of the 'Criminal Procedure Code for Courts' (De Mahakumu Jazaai Osulnama) signed by the Taliban leader.
• AcademicGeorgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS)The Taliban's new criminal regulation legalizes slavery, violence, and repression of women. By embedding vague moral offenses, expansive criminal liability, and severe penalties into law, the Taliban transform repression into a legal framework.
• AcademicOxford Human Rights HubThe Taliban's New 'Criminal Procedure Code for Courts': Fundamental Rights Violations Are Now Legal in Afghanistan.
• SecondaryJURIST Legal NewsThe Taliban government in Afghanistan has quietly enacted a new penal code that allows husbands to physically punish their wives and recognizes only 'excessive' beating as domestic violence.
• SecondaryAmnesty InternationalThe new Criminal Regulation recently endorsed by the Taliban leader will further entrench violence and discrimination against women. The new 'Criminal Procedure Regulation of the Courts', approved by the Taliban, not only fails to ensure basic guarantees for a fair trial.
• SecondaryAF InternationalTaliban Criminal Code Allows Child Abuse, Slavery & Executions. The human rights organisation Rawadari says the Taliban have failed to fully criminalise the beating of children under their criminal code.
• SecondaryMs. MagazineA sweeping decree concentrates Taliban power, criminalizes dissent and strips Afghan women and girls of autonomy, safety and legal rights.
• SecondaryOMCT (World Organisation Against Torture) — Civil Society Joint StatementCivil Society Joint Statement: 'Criminal Procedure Code for Courts' will further deepen the human rights crisis in Afghanistan. Presented at the 61st Session of the UN Human Rights Council.