Foreign Nationals on Death Row As the authorisation of the execution (as well as relief from a capital sentence) requires a president’s signature, individuals can remain on death row inde nitely. As such, although details of foreign nationals who are on death row in Afghanistan is not publicly available, according to a source in the Afghan government, foreign nationals on death row are serving long-term prison sentences (and are not being executed). The government’s shift away from executions is in keeping with international norms pressure from donor countries to abolish the death penalty altogether, as well as efforts to remain distinct from the brutality of Taliban-sponsored executions. Afghanistan’s judicial system has been criticised by the international community for not being able to provide fair and sound trials, as well as obtaining confessions using torture. fi fi fi The Taliban, prior to 15 August 2021, controlled some regions of the country and used kangaroo courts under their own strict version of the Sharia to sentence individuals to death and carry out executions. In 2021, the Taliban have been reported to have made numerous summary executions which made international news. In July 2021 alone, 22 Afghan ghters were executed, in Kandahar province local reports state that more than 100 people were executed based on their af liation with the government, and a prominent Indian photojournalist, Danish Siddiqui, was also brutally executed. More detailed data on the ongoing executions by the Taliban is yet to be compiled. Taliban kangaroo courts were condemned by the Afghan public as well as the government and international human rights organisations for having no legal basis. The peace negotiations between the Afghan government, the Taliban, and the United States included prisoner release as one of the conditions of the negotiations. 5,000 Taliban prisoners and 1,000 government prisoners were released in 2020. 156 of the Taliban prisoners released were on death row, 105 accused of murder, 34 of kidnapping leading to murder, 51 of drug smuggling, and others of various other crimes. Meanwhile, according to a 2021 report published by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), between 1 January and June 30, there was a 47% increase in civilian casualties in Afghanistan with over 5,183 civilians killed, attributed mainly to the Taliban. Targeted killings using IEDs and shooting human rights defenders, media workers, religious elders, civilian government workers, and Hazaras by antigovernment elements were of concern. The Pul-e-Charki prison in Kabul, where most death row prisoners are held.