VOA News October 24, 2023 An Afghan-French journalist who spent 284 days imprisoned in Afghanistan has recalled how he was beaten, nearly choked, and interrogated. Speaking at a news conference in the French capital, Paris, on Monday, the newly released Mortaza Behboudi said he didn’t think he would make it out of custody alive. The
8am: The Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) has reported that over the past two years, the Taliban have issued 13 directives systematically limiting media freedom and access to information in the country. On the occasion of the International Day for Universal Access to Information,” this organization released a statement on Thursday, September 28, asserting that the
Akmal Dawi VOA News August 30, 2023 In 2016, a young girl, whom we will call Zarghona to protect her identity, embarked on a remarkable journey in central-south Afghanistan. At just 14 years old, she joined a local radio station in Ghazni province, eager to make her voice heard. Initially entrusted with a daily entertainment
Khaama: After two years of uncertainty and press restrictions, the Taliban has presented a draft for a new media law in Afghanistan, seeking approval from their leader. Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson of the de facto administration, revealed that the country’s new media law draft has been finished and forwarded to the supreme leader for approval.
By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi August 23, 2023 An Afghan press freedom organization has called for the release of an Iranian photojournalist detained by the Taliban, which has arrested around a dozen reporters over the past two weeks. The semioffical Tasnim news agency in Iran reported on August 22 that Taliban security agents had apprehended its
By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi August 16, 2023 International press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called for the release of nine Afghan journalists arbitrarily arrested by Taliban security forces this month. Antoine Bernard, RSF’s director of advocacy and assistance, said on August 16 that RSF wants the “unconditional release” of all nine Afghan journalists. “The
By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi August 14, 2023 Two more journalists have been arrested by Taliban authorities in southern Afghanistan, where women’s voices were also barred from radio broadcasts. A source who requested anonymity told RFE/RL that Taliban forces arrested journalists Attaullah Omar and Waheedur Rahman Afghanmal in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar on August 13. Omar is
Ayaz Gul VOA News August 12, 2023 ISLAMABAD — Media freedom defenders have called on Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities to immediately release at least nine journalists currently in prison for their work and stop their “brutal” crackdown on national press members. Operatives of the Taliban’s spy agency, the General Directorate of Intelligence, or GDI, arrested five journalists
The Hill: Almost two years after American soldiers swiftly packed and left the nation’s longest-running war in Afghanistan, the Taliban are still targeting tens of thousands of Afghans left behind. Among them are Afghan women journalists. The United States recognized the risks Afghanistan’s female journalists would face under a Taliban takeover. Click here to read
8am: According to anonymous local sources, who spoke to Hasht-e Subh, the incident occurred on Tuesday, August 1st, when Taliban members attacked the media outlet and expelled its staff before shutting down the office. Meanwhile, Atal Khan Stanikzai, the director of the media outlet, stated that the Taliban attacked the office without any prior coordination.