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
VOA News July 27, 2021 Four journalists have been arrested on propaganda charges in Afghanistan, Afghan officials said Tuesday. They were arrested in the city of Kandahar after traveling to the disputed border town of Spin Boldak to interview commanders of the Taliban, which has been clashing with Afghan security forces, according to the Afghan
Ayesha Tanzeem VOA News July 25, 2021 ISLAMABAD – The day the Taliban entered Balkh district, 20 km west of Mazar e Sharif, the capital of Balkh province last month, local radio station Nawbahar shuttered its doors and most of its journalists went into hiding. Within days the station started broadcasting again, but the programming
Liam Scott, Nike Ching, Jeff Seldin VOA News July 22, 2021 WASHINGTON – A coalition of more than two dozen U.S. news outlets and press freedom organizations is calling on the U.S. government to help protect Afghans who worked with foreign media and may face risks from the Taliban as a result. Letters to President Joe Biden and
Ayaz Gul VOA News June 4, 2021 ISLAMABAD – The Taliban seized a district in southern Afghanistan Friday without facing any resistance from Afghan government security forces, bringing to seven the number of districts the insurgents have overrun since the United States and its NATO allies began withdrawing their troops from the country a month