Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty August 20, 2021 The German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) says Taliban fighters have shot and killed a close relative of one of its journalists, heightening international concerns over the safety of media workers and their families under the hard-line Islamist group’s rule. The militants killed the relative and seriously wounded
Frud Bezhan Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty August 18, 2021 Prominent female news presenter Shabnam Dawran is one of Afghanistan’s most recognizable faces. But after the Taliban’s takeover of the Afghan capital on August 15, she was promptly fired along with all her female colleagues. A Taliban militant flanked by a white Taliban flag took her
Ariana: An Ariana News journalist, a Pajhwok Afghan News photographer and a reporter for Khorshid TV were allegedly assaulted by Taliban members on Wednesday. The Ariana News reporter, Mahmoud Naimi, and Pajhwok photographer, Babrak Aminzadah, were both allegedly beaten while covering a demonstration in Nangarhar, while the Khorshid TV journalist, Nawid Ahmad Kawesh, was allegedly
By Ayaz Gul, Ayesha Tanzeem VOA News / August 17, 2021 ISLAMABAD/KABUL – The Taliban said Tuesday talks on the formation of an “inclusive Islamic” government in Afghanistan are near conclusion as the radical movement consolidates its hold over the war-torn country. The Taliban stunned the world over the weekend when they retook power in Kabul, the
Many Afghan journalists and activists have gone into “hiding” the day after Taliban fighters took control of the capital, Kabul. One RFE/RL Radio Azadi reporter, whose identity could not be revealed for security reasons, sees “a dark future” ahead. He said there were reports of Taliban militants going “house-to-house” and shooting people in the
The Guardian (UK): Two days ago I had to flee my home and life in the north of Afghanistan after the Taliban took my city. I am still on the run and there is no safe place for me to go. Last week I was a news journalist. Today I can’t write under my own
RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi August 9, 2021 Suspected Taliban gunmen shot and killed an Afghan radio station manager in Kabul and kidnapped a journalist in southern Helmand Province, officials said, the latest in a long line of attacks targeting media workers. Gunmen shot Toofan Omar, the Paktia Ghag radio manager who was also an officer for
Frud Bezhan Mustafa Sarwar Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty August 5, 2021 Afghanistan’s thriving media scene has been hailed as one of the biggest achievements of the past 20 years, following the Taliban’s ban of independent media during its brutal former regime that was ousted in 2001. But the resurgent Taliban is rapidly reversing those gains
Ayaz Gul VOA News July 31, 2021 ISLAMABAD – Human rights and media freedom advocates are urging authorities in Afghanistan to release four journalists arrested this week on charges they were “spreading enemy propaganda.” It was not immediately known whether the journalists have formally been charged, nor have Afghan authorities discussed their fate since taking
Abubakar Siddique RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi July 28, 2021 Sadaf Siddiqi, a pseudonym for a young Afghan journalist, began her career with great hopes five years ago. She freelanced for local and national media outlets in the northeastern Afghan city of Kunduz, where she soon became a known face after becoming a presenter at a local