Michael Hughes: Even if the UN successfully intervenes to persuade the Taliban to release a Franco-Afghan reporter held captive in Afghanistan for nearly fifty days, it will not change Kabul’s crackdown because the radical movement understands the power of media.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called upon the UN to take all measures possible to get the Taliban to release Mortaza Behboudi, an Afghan native of the Hazara ethnic minority, a group long-persecuted by the Pashtun-dominated Taliban. Behboudi was seized within 48 hours upon arrival in Afghanistan while seeking press credentials.