A man and woman were publicly stoned in the northeastern Afghan province of Badakhshan after being accused of adultery. The news was confirmed by two local Taliban officials. “They confessed to having an illegal relationship and having done it two or three times,” said a provincial official. According to the local newspaper Hasht-e Subh, the stoning took place on Monday on the orders of a Taliban commander. The head of the culture and information department of the province, Muezuddin Ahmadi, announced that there will be an investigation and that those responsible for the stoning will be punished. In Taliban-controlled Afghanistan there have been many cases of cruel punishment applied by local commanders, despite public assurances that they want to respect human rights.