Freedom of expression in prison; Taliban arrest journalists for reporting.
In a statement on July 29, the Afghan Journalists’ Center expressed deep concern over the Taliban’s increasing repression of the media and called for the immediate and unconditional release of the detained journalists.
According to the statement, over the past three weeks, intelligence and employees of the Taliban’s Ministry of Publicity have arrested at least seven journalists and media activists in Kabul and one province.
On July 22, a journalist and two media activists were arrested and transferred to the Intelligence Directorate on charges of holding a training course for girls. Their work equipment was also confiscated.
On July 21, a person was arrested in the Kartase district of Kabul on charges of providing technical support to media outlets operating abroad.
Also, on July 7, a local journalist was arrested solely for reporting that was not approved by the Taliban administration and was released after two days on a bond.
The Journalists’ Center emphasized that security concerns prevented the disclosure of the identities of five of the detainees.
On July 15, Taliban intelligence raided the Pixel media office in Kabul and took away Naveed Ahmad Asghari, the director of the organization, and Mushtaq Ahmad Halimi, his deputy.
The media organization warned that the continued arrests are a clear sign of violations of freedom of expression and an intensification of the atmosphere of suffocation in the country’s media environment.
