The U.S. special envoy for women, girls and human rights in Afghanistan has sharply criticized the ruling Islamist Taliban for organizing public floggings of people, including women, accused of "moral crimes" such as theft and adultery.

INTERNATIONAL: The U.S. special envoy for women, girls and human rights in Afghanistan has sharply criticized the ruling Islamist Taliban for organizing public floggings of people, including women, accused of "moral crimes" such as theft and adultery.

"This is both appalling and a dangerous sign that the Taliban are becoming more defiant in showing the world that they are embracing the policies of the past," Rina Amiri said on Twitter.

Her reaction came a day after the Taliban Supreme Court said that 11 men and three women had been flogged "for different sins, including adultery, robbery and other forms of corruption," in a football stadium in the country's east.

The announcement noted that the punishment was administered Wednesday morning "in the presence of respected scholars, security forces, tribal elders and local residents."

It was the latest sign of the Taliban's application of their strict interpretation of Islamic law, known as Shariah, to criminal justice, and restoring policies of their rule from 1996 to 2001, when flogging took place in much of Afghanistan.

"It didn't end up well before, and it will once again take the country on a perilous path," Amiri warned.

Earlier this month, reclusive Taliban chief Hibatullah Akhundzada ordered senior judges to apply Shariah punishments in cases already concluded. Taliban authorities have since implemented public floggings in at least two provinces for crimes such as adultery, false accusations of adultery, theft, banditry, alcohol consumption, apostasy and sedition.