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(CNN) -
A report released by Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday says the Taliban executed dozens of members of the Afghan security forces after they surrendered after the Taliban took over the country.
The report documents "the summary execution or enforced disappearance" of 47 former members of the Afghanistan National Security Forces (ANSF), including the military, police, intelligence service members and paramilitary militias, who had surrendered or were detained by the Taliban forces between August 15 and October 31, 2021.
HRW says the report is based on a total of 67 interviews, including 40 in-person interviews with witnesses, relatives and friends of the victims and Taliban fighters.
HRW granted anonymity to some people for their report.
In some cases, families tell stories of people who simply disappeared.
The report focuses on Ghazni, Helmand, Kandahar and Kunduz provinces, but HRW says that "the cases reflect a broader pattern of reported abuses in Khost, Paktiya, Paktika and other provinces."
CNN has not been able to independently confirm the report's claims, and multiple calls and texts have not been returned to Taliban officials.
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Human Rights Watch says it sent the Taliban a copy of its report on November 7.
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The crimes of the Taliban
In response, HRW says the Taliban said they had removed 755 members from their ranks who had committed such acts and established a military court for those accused of murder, torture and illegal detention.
They also said that executions of detainees were not allowed unless decided by a Sharia court.
In their official response to HRW, the Taliban said that not all the information is accurate.
“Some cases of persecution or detention of some people that you mentioned in your report are not based on the past events of these people, but they are involved in new criminal activities.
Our intelligence information on these figures shows that they are trying to create problems and plots against the new administration, ”they said.
HRW said the report is based on a total of 67 interviews, including 40 in-person interviews conducted in Ghazni, Helmand, Kunduz and Kandahar provinces.
HRW's investigation indicates that more than 100 former members of the security forces have been killed or forcibly disappeared by Taliban forces in these four provinces in the three months since they took control of the capital Kabul on August 15.
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HRW: Taliban persecute relatives of former members of the security forces
The HRW investigators added: "They have also targeted relatives of former members of the security forces."
A man from Kandahar described to HRW what happened when the Taliban knocked on his door looking for his brother, a former member of the Afghan National Security Forces.
"There was a knock on the door. [The Taliban] asked, 'Is [your brother] at home?'
I said no. "Don't be afraid, tell him, we want to talk to him." I said no, he's not at home. A couple of days later, they took my brother out onto the street. We searched everywhere. We went to the Taliban. , who denied their participation. Two days later we found his body. "
"Summary killings and enforced disappearances have occurred despite the amnesty announced by the Taliban for former civilian and military government officials and assurances by Taliban leaders that they would hold their forces responsible for violations of the amnesty order," it says. HRW.
A Taliban fighter described a former prison official who was allegedly executed after being called back to work in August.
“The commanders called him back to work after a few days [after taking control of Kunduz].
They said, "Your job is here, you already know this job."
The prison has three doors.
["Muhammad"] went through the first door.
They shot him dead between the second and third gates. "
"In the weeks leading up to the invasion of Kabul by the Taliban, revenge killings, including attacks on government officials, were already increasing in major cities and along key roads," HRW said, adding: "The Taliban , through their intelligence operations and access to employment records left by the previous government, they have identified new targets for arrest and execution. "
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Taliban have violated Amnesty program, according to HRW
HRW alleges that the information collected as part of the so-called "amnesty program" that would guarantee the safety of the ANSF forces surrendered was used "to arrest and summarily execute or forcibly disappear people within days of their registration, leaving their bodies for their relatives or communities to find. "
HRW says that "many Afghans interviewed expressed fear that if they registered with the Taliban to receive the amnesty letter, they could be identified or recognized and face violent retaliation. At the same time, the Taliban have also searched and detained people who do not stop. check in".
The report alleges that the Taliban have also searched for known former members of the security forces, "often threatening and abusing family members to reveal the whereabouts of those in hiding," adding "Some of those who were eventually arrested have been executed or taken into custody without recognition. "
of his arrest or his location, the crime of enforced disappearance ".
HRW says that while Taliban officials have repeatedly denied that their forces carried out killings and disappearances, "there is increasing evidence that summary executions and disappearances, among other abuses, are being carried out by senior Taliban leaders. at the district or provincial level ".
Investigators say that on September 21 the Taliban announced the establishment of a commission to investigate reports of human rights abuses, corruption, theft and other crimes, but "as of November 22, the commission had not announced any investigation into the killings. reported, although it reported on the arrest of several members of the Taliban for robbery and the dismissal of others for corruption. "
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