At least seven journalists and media workers have been detained by the Taliban’s morality police and intelligence forces over the past three weeks, the Afghanistan Journalists Center reported Monday.
According to the AFJC, a total of 15 journalists and media professionals are currently in Taliban custody. The organisation condemned the arrests and called for the unconditional release of all detainees.
The centre said that on 24 July, a journalist and two media activists were arrested in Kabul for allegedly organising educational courses for girls. They were transferred to the Taliban’s intelligence headquarters for interrogation.
A day earlier, on 23 July, another individual in Kabul’s Karte 3 area was detained on accusations of designing and providing technical support for Afghan news websites operating from abroad. That person was also taken to a Taliban intelligence detention facility.
The AFJC also reported the arrest of a local journalist on 7 July in one of the provinces. The journalist was released two days later after presenting two guarantors and signing a pledge to adhere to the Taliban’s restrictive media regulations.
On 15 July, Taliban intelligence agents and the morality police raided the office of Pixel Media Company, detaining the outlet’s director and deputy director. Equipment including cameras, computers and data storage devices was confiscated during the raid.
Subsequently, Taliban authorities released a video showing the two individuals, claiming they had been arrested for dubbing foreign television series. The video included what appeared to be forced “confessions.”
The AFJC decried the detentions and stated that such actions are in clear violation of press freedom and international standards. For security reasons, the organisation has not disclosed the identities of the individuals currently in custody.
