Afghanistan’s Taliban government has detained at least three journalists on unspecified charges, the United Nations mission in the country said on Thursday while calling for the protection of media workers.
The three detained individuals include the head of the Kabul-based Paigard News Agency and two staff members from Afghanistan’s first 24-hour news channel, TOLOnews, according to media and rights groups.
The UN mission, United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Unama), said it urged “the authorities to uphold their obligations under international human rights law and ensure that journalists can do their work without fear of intimidation, harassment, or reprisal”.
According to Reporters Without Borders, more than 40 per cent of Afghanistan’s media outlets shut down within three months of the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, while women have been barred from most journalism roles.
The campaign group also said Afghanistan ranked among the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture confirmed the detention of the two TOLOnews journalists, saying their cases were under investigation, though it did not specify any charges against them.
TOLOnews identified the detained journalists as Imran Danish and Mansoor Niazi. The broadcaster said security officials had informed them that further details regarding the cases would be shared once legal procedures had been completed.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Jawed Niazi of Paigard News Agency was arrested late last Thursday at his office in Kabul by Taliban intelligence forces, according to a statement issued on behalf of the agency by the Afghanistan Media Support Organisation.