Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai says his government will not reintroduce stoning as a punishment for adultery.
Karzai was quoted as telling RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan: "It is not correct. The minister of justice has rejected it."
The brutal punishment of stoning was used during the rule of the Islamist Taliban regime, which was in power from the mid-1990s until the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001.
Earlier this week, Human Rights Watch urged Afghanistan to reject restoring stoning as a punishment.
In a statement, the group said "it is absolutely shocking that 12 years after the fall of the Taliban government, the Karzai administration might bring back stoning."
The group called on Karzai "to demonstrate at least a basic commitment to human rights and reject this proposal."
Karzai was quoted as telling RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan: "It is not correct. The minister of justice has rejected it."
The brutal punishment of stoning was used during the rule of the Islamist Taliban regime, which was in power from the mid-1990s until the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001.
Earlier this week, Human Rights Watch urged Afghanistan to reject restoring stoning as a punishment.
In a statement, the group said "it is absolutely shocking that 12 years after the fall of the Taliban government, the Karzai administration might bring back stoning."
The group called on Karzai "to demonstrate at least a basic commitment to human rights and reject this proposal."