The phrase "a harsh form of" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe a particular type of something that is severe or extreme in nature.
Example: "The new policy is seen by many as a harsh form of punishment for minor infractions."
Alternatives: "a severe type of" or "an extreme version of".
Al-Shabaab has imposed a harsh form of sharia law in the southern part of Somalia.
In order to win the support of Iraq's clerics, Saddam obliged people to adopt a harsh form of traditional Islam.
Once the Shabab take over an area, they impose a harsh form of Islamic law, banning music, soccer, even bras.
They do not get as far as the second chorus before someone lobs a brick through the window – which seems a harsh form of criticism.
Al-Shabaab, which formally allied themselves to al-Qaida this year, installed a harsh form of sharia law in the areas they control.
These calls have increased in recent months as African Union peacekeepers, including Kenyan troops, have begun notching up victories against al-Shabaab, whose fighters impose a harsh form of sharia law in the areas of Somalia they control.
She faces a trial hearing on Monday on charges that could result in a prison term of up to five years, a harsher form of the isolation she has endured for 13 of the past 19 years.
While people have been able to get around government-imposed barriers on politically sensitive sites (as well as seemingly innocuous ones such as Facebook which was suddenly blocked 18 months ago) using programs on their PCs, a harsher form of restriction is being enforced from the US.
The included literature suggests that impalement across a number of cultures was regarded as a very harsh form of capital punishment, as it was used particularly in response to "crimes against the state".
They imposed a sometimes harsh form of Sharia, and reopened the Mogadishu seaport and airport, which had mostly been closed for fifteen years.
According to China's official Xinhua news agency, 41-year-old Yu, chief engineer of the state-owned Wenzhou Industry Investment Group, spent the interim in shuanggui, a notoriously harsh form of extralegal detention for Communist party officials who are suspected of corruption.
