The Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice says two people have been arrested in Balkh and Ghazni provinces on accusations of “witchcraft.”
In a statement released on Tuesday, the ministry said the individuals have been referred to Taliban courts, without providing further details about their identities.
The ministry also said that nine more people were arrested in different provinces over similar accusations in the past week.
The statement did not define “witchcraft,” but reports suggest that in some cases individuals are detained for practices such as writing amulets.
Inspectors from the ministry are responsible for monitoring public behavior across the country and are granted broad powers of detention under Taliban law.
The law on the Promotion of Virtue, approved in 2024, allows these inspectors to detain individuals and refer them to judicial authorities.