Afghanistan’s LGBTQ community say they’re being hunted down after Taliban takeover

It’s not clear yet how severely the Taliban will enforce its strict religious laws against Afghanistan’s LGBTQ citizens. No official statement has been made, but in an interview with Germany’s Bild newspaper in July, one Taliban judge said there were only two punishments for homosexuality — stoning or being crushed under a wall.

In response to a request for comment, a Taliban spokesman told CNN they had no official plans for their LGBTQ population yet.

The LGBTQ people in Afghanistan CNN spoke with said they had heard reports of friends, partners and members of their community being attacked and raped. Some are being hidden by friends who are helping keep watch or bringing them supplies. And they were terrified that Islamic fundamentalists and vigilante groups emboldened by the new regime could do the same to them — or worse.

Even before the Taliban took power in August, life wasn’t easy for LGBTQ people in Afghanistan.