A harrowing new report by Afghan human rights group ”Rawadari” has pulled back the curtain on the Taliban’s brutal and unchecked use of torture in detention centres across Afghanistan, where victims, including women, have been subjected to physical, psychological, and even sexual abuse for the “entertainment” of Taliban intelligence agents.
The report, released Wednesday, is based on firsthand testimony from 34 former detainees, including seven women, who were held between August 2021 and January 2025. In one of the most damning findings to date since the Taliban’s return to power, 33 of those interviewed said they were arrested without any legal warrant or formal charges, with no access to a fair trial or legal counsel.
According to the report, most detainees were held by Taliban intelligence operatives, often in secret or unauthorised detention centres, and subjected to inhumane treatment that violates every tenet of international law. Victims recounted being beaten with cables and gun butts, electrocuted, held in solitary confinement for weeks, denied food, and refused medical attention for severe injuries.
But beyond coercion, the report reveals something far more sinister: torture used as punishment and performance. Several detainees described abuse inflicted not to extract information, but simply to degrade, dominate, and amuse Taliban captors. “They didn’t care if you confessed or not,” said one former prisoner. “They laughed while hitting me.”
Others described being blindfolded, shoved into car trunks, and driven to detention centres in silence, only to be held for days without being told why.
Of particular concern is the systematic use of sexual harassment and psychological torment, with women detainees reporting invasive interrogations, humiliation, and threats against their families. Rawadari warned that these practices are deliberate, widespread, and institutionalized.
In 24 of the 34 cases, detainees said their arrests never reached any courtroom. And in 27 cases, detainees were denied access to any form of legal representation. With no functioning judiciary and zero independent oversight, Taliban intelligence operates with impunity, detaining, abusing, and releasing individuals at will.
Even release does not guarantee safety. The report documents post-detention harassment, including surveillance, threats, and social ostracism, designed to silence survivors and bury evidence of abuse.
‘Rawadari’s’ report draws on testimony from victims across 16 provinces, some of whom were held for mere hours, others for up to three years. The organization concluded that Afghanistan currently lacks any independent institution capable of monitoring prison conditions, and called on the international community to intervene.
“The Taliban must be held accountable under international human rights law, particularly the Convention Against Torture,” the group said in a statement. “Coordinated diplomatic pressure is essential, silence enables further abuse.”
The Taliban have not officially responded to the report. Historically, the group has denied systematic abuse and claimed it adheres to “Islamic and Afghan law.” But as evidence mounts and voices grow louder, these denials ring increasingly hollow.
For Afghanistan’s detainees, many of whom have risked their lives simply to speak out, justice remains elusive, and the suffering, in many cases, continues long after the cell doors have opened.
