Richard Bennett: Internet shutdown in Afghanistan is a clear violation of human rights

Richard Bennett: Internet shutdown in Afghanistan is a clear violation of human rights

Richard Bennett: Internet shutdown in Afghanistan is a clear violation of human rights.

Richard Bennett, the UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur for Afghanistan, has stressed in response to the 48-hour internet shutdown across the country that this measure has disrupted the daily lives of citizens and is a clear violation of their human rights.

On Wednesday, October 1, 2025, he wrote on his X account that with this decision, the Taliban have violated the people’s right to access information and free communication.

The complete shutdown of telecommunications and internet networks for two consecutive days has put thousands of Afghan citizens in a critical situation and completely blocked their communication with the inside and outside the country.

Many families, students, businessmen and service workers faced serious problems.

According to observers, this Taliban action is just one of dozens of examples of human rights violations in the four years of their rule;

A regime that has restricted women’s rights and civil liberties more than ever before, turning Afghanistan into one of the most closed societies in the world.