stone wall to fall on them.82 The death penalty has not been implemented on those accused of same sex relations since 2001.83 5. AFGHAN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AT GREATER RISK THAN EVER Systematic death threats, attacks, and killings of human rights defenders have been rampant across Afghanistan even prior to the withdrawal of US troops. This includes those working in civil society organizations or NGOs- that is, anyone who individually or with others act to promote or protect human rights in a peaceful manner.84 Since the capture of Kabul by the Taliban on 15 August 2021, the lives of thousands of women and men who had risked their safety to promote and defend human rights, gender equality, rule of law, and democratic freedoms in their country are now, more than ever, hanging by a thread. While it is now almost impossible to carry out any human rights work, attacks on human rights defenders have reportedly been on the rise without any sign of abating. Since 15 August, the Taliban and armed groups have engaged in large-scale door-to-door searches, forcing human rights defenders into hiding, and moving clandestinely from one place to another.85 Meanwhile, escalating violence in the provinces has forced a large number of defenders to leave their home and internally relocate to Kabul.86 Human rights defenders were also beaten up by the Taliban.87 Yet very few are willing to publicly denounce the attacks for fear of further reprisals. This demonstrates the climate of fear under which Afghan defenders are now forced to live and are trying to escape. On 7 September, a staff member of a Kabul-based NGO was arrested by the Taliban, whipped, and severely beaten.88 On 11 September, the Taliban forces allegedly broke into the house of Fahima Rahmati, a local female activist in Kandahar Province, dragged her family members out, beat them, and took them to an unknown location.89 From September 2020 until May 2021, a total of 17 human rights defenders were killed, including nine journalists, as per information compiled by the Afghan Human Rights Defenders Committee (AHRDC).90 During this period, over 200 human rights defenders and media representatives reported that they were receiving serious threats to the AHRDC and the Afghanistan Journalists Safety Committee. A report published by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in February 2021, noted that 65 media practitioners and human rights defenders have been killed since 2018.91 In most of these cases, no perpetrators were held to account. These attacks aimed at silencing those working on human rights, especially women’s rights, as well as those seeking justice and accountability for human rights violations. As a result, The New York Times. “Execution By Taliban: Crushed Under Wall”. 16 January 1999. https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/16/world/execution-bytaliban-crushed-under-wall.html. 82 Rachel Savage. Reuters. 19 August 2021. “LGBT+ Afghans in hiding, fearing death under Taliban”. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistanlgbt-hiding-idUSKBN2FK1UP. 83 84 OHCHR. “About Human Rights Defenders”. https://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/srhrdefenders/pages/defender.aspx. 85 BBC. 20 August 2021. “Afghanistan: Taliban carrying out door-to-door manhunt, report says”. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58271797. 86 BBC. 13 August 2021. “Afghanistan: Desperation as thousands flee the Taliban”. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-58191043. 87 UN. 10 September 2021. “Taliban response to protests increasingly violent, warns OHCHR”. https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/09/1099552. 88 Confidential communication sent by email. 13 September 2021. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). Pajhwok Afghan News. 12 September 2021. “Taliban attack Fahima house, arrest family members”. https://pajhwok.com/2021/09/12/taliban-attackfahima-house-arrest-family-members/. Haste Sobh. 8AM News. 12 September 2021. “The Taliban Have Allegedly Arrested Two Brothers and a Brotherin-Law of a Civil Activist in Kandahar, Afghanistan”. https://8am.af/eng/the-taliban-have-allegedly-arrested-two-brothers-and-a-brother-in-law-of-a-civilactivist-in-kandahar-afghanistan/. 89 Amnesty International, FIDH, CIVICUS and others. ReliefWeb. 19 May 2021. “Afghanistan: Joint call for an immediate end to attacks against human rights defenders and need for protection and accountability”. https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/afghanistan-joint-call-immediate-end-attacks-againsthuman-rights-defenders-and. 90 UNAMA. 2021. “Special Report: Killing of Human Rights Defenders, Journalists and Media Workers in Afghanistan. 2018-2021.” https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Funama.unmissions.org%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Funama_special_report_kil ling_of_human_rights_defenders_and_journalists_in_afghanistan_20182021_february_2021.pdf&data=04|01|samira.hamidi@amnesty.org|6f7a7bb3f4004513573208d9193e17c9|c2dbf829378d44c1b47a1c043924ddf3|0|1| 637568576751667554|Unknown|TWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D|1000&sdata=oxZgOV RAZSCNFeRhWAi9dRSApp%2Ffhp7enMQ2SpyEYkI%3D&reserved=0 91 THE FATE OF THOUSANDS HANGING IN THE BALANCE: AFGHANISTAN’S FALL INTO THE HANDS OF THE TALIBAN Amnesty International 12