Two Rasa TV Journalists Released After Ten Months in Bagram Prison.
Ghulam Mohiuddin Sahibzada, the managing director, and Jihadmal Habibi, a reporter for the private Rasa TV, have been released after serving ten months in Bagram prison. According to the Afghanistan Journalists Center, they were freed around 4 p.m. today, after being briefly transferred to the Taliban’s 40th Intelligence Directorate in Kabul prior to their release.
The two journalists were initially arrested on February 18, 2024, by Taliban intelligence officials in Kabul, and the Rasa TV office and equipment were confiscated. Their trial took place on March 24, 2025, at the Taliban’s Second District Court in Kabul, where they were sentenced to ten months in prison on charges of “propaganda against the Taliban.” The Afghanistan Journalists Center emphasized that the detention and trial were conducted without legal representation and were unjust, with the primary reason being their journalistic activities.
Despite their release, Rasa TV has not been permitted to reopen or resume broadcasting. Established in 2019 in Kabul, the channel reported on social and daily issues and rebroadcast foreign documentaries on climate and wildlife. The Afghanistan Journalists Center welcomed the journalists’ release while stressing the need to uphold media rights and prevent arbitrary detentions.
