Corpun file 22034
msnbc.com, 5 February 2010
New video shows Taliban flogging men, boy
Tribal elder says teenager was being punished for not growing a beard
Associated Press
Video shows Taliban punishment
Feb. 5: New video emerges from Pakistan's tribal belt showing Taliban militants flogging two men and a teenage boy. Msnbc.com's Dara Brown reports. |
ISLAMABAD - Taliban militants flog two
men and a teenage boy in a video that has emerged from Pakistan's
tribal belt along the Afghan border, showing the hold of
insurgents in at least one area there despite army offensives and
intensified U.S. missile strikes in the region.
The video was shot on a mobile phone on
Feb. 3 and passed to a local journalist who occasionally provides
video to Associated Press Television News. The man who provided
the clip said it was taken in the Mamozai area of the Orakzai
tribal region, though there was no way of verifying that because
travel there is dangerous for outsiders. The tribal elder
requested anonymity out of fear for his life.
The Taliban are known to beat people in
areas they control if they are suspected of criminal acts, spying
or violating the militants' ultra-strict interpretation of
Islamic law. People accused of serious crimes are often
reportedly killed.
Using a piece of rope or leather, a
militant repeatedly strikes a man who wears trousers but no
shirt, and who looks to be covered in dirt or soot. The man at
times has to be restrained. He falls to the ground repeatedly,
but is hauled back up during the beating.
Click to enlarge
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The tribal elder who provided the
footage said the man was being punished for allegedly
"working against the Taliban" by speaking out against
the militants. The second victim appears to be a teenage boy, who
the tribal elder said was being blamed for not growing a beard.
The third victim was said to be punished for not praying.
A crowd of men and boys watched the
beatings, mostly in silence.
'Old man with the white beard'
As the audience rise to leave, a man
announces that an "old man with the white beard" is to
be detained for five days and "if he improves" during
his detention the militants would take another look at his case.
His crime was not announced.
The tribal elder identified the militant
doing the beating as Mullah Toofan, believed to be a local
Taliban commander.
The Pakistani army has carried out
occasional air raids in Orakzai over the last few months, but it
has not been the target of a major ground offensive like one
under way in South Waziristan tribal region.
The government has little or no presence
in Pakistan's tribal belt. Before the Taliban rose to prominence
in the region over the past decade, tribal elders dispensed justice.
RELATED VIDEO CLIP
Following is the 2-minute clip, as described in the above article. The whippings are given mostly on the back, but the first man also gets some rather ineffectual-looking strokes on his buttocks. There is no proper procedure for keeping the recipient held in position -- it is all very inept and rather random.
This video clip is not currently available.
IMPORTANT: Copyright in this video material rests with the original copyright holders. This brief excerpt is reproduced under the "fair use" doctrine 
for private, non-profit, historical research and education purposes only. It must not be redistributed or republished in any commercial context.
