Family members of Matiullah Wesa, an education activist in Afghanistan, said that even after two months of his arrest by Taliban, they haven’t been able to meet him. Ataullah Wesa told Afghanistan International that Taliban have also prevented them from hiring a lawyer for him.
The Taliban intelligence agency arrested Wesa, an activist for girls’ education and director of PenPath organisation, in late March in Kabul.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has confirmed that the group’s intelligence agency had arrested Wesa for “encouraging people to engage in anti-government activities”.
Rights groups have repeatedly said that those detained by the Taliban don’t have access to due procedures, justice, and lawyers.
Wesa has a strong record of volunteer work in relation to promotion and advocacy for the education of girls and awareness building about education for Afghans in remote areas of Afghanistan.
He has set up workshops and mobile libraries for children in several provinces. With the Taliban banning the education of girls, Wesa concentrated his educational activities on education for girls and women across Afghanistan.
Several international institutions and human rights activists have called for the release of Wesa, but the Taliban have not answered these calls and have kept him in detention.
