HRW slams ‘ruthless’ Taliban government as new law bans protest

Human Rights Watch slammed on Thursday (August 27, 2026) the “ruthless effort to suppress all dissent” by the Taliban government, after a new police law banned demonstrations across Afghanistan.

The 84-page legislation published by the justice ministry outlines a series of changes to law enforcement nationwide, including the rule that “all types of protests are banned”.

Elaine Pearson, Asia director for Human Rights Watch, said the measure is “another step in the Taliban’s ruthless effort to suppress all dissent”.

“The Taliban authorities fear any dissent and so they are escalating their repression,” she said in a statement to AFP.

The Afghan government did not respond to AFP‘s requests for comment on protests being outlawed through the legislation, which was made public this month.

Demonstrations have been rare during the Taliban administration’s five years in power. At least two people were killed in June when security forces allegedly opened fire at a women’s rights protest in the western city of Herat, a group of UN experts said.

Amnesty International described the police law as “another sweeping assault on human rights in Afghanistan”, with the protest ban “among its most egregious provisions”.

The new law also extends detention without charge from three days to 10, or even longer by court order.

This month, the intelligence agency detained two UN employees for 11 days without giving a reason.

In a country where corporal punishment is used for a range of crimes, the police legislation tells officers they cannot hit prisoners with weapons such as sticks or wires without a court order. They can, however, use force to get a suspect to repent, and are also allowed to use anger, according to the legislation.