Unknown assailants shot Yaqoub Sharafat, a 23-year-old journalist for the state-run broadcaster Radio Television Afghanistan, the evening of October 16, 2016, in Qalat, the capital of southern Afghanistan’s Zabul province. The journalist was on his way home at the time, though press reports differed as to whether he was returning from his office or a clinic. He died on the way to hospital, according to press reports and press freedom advocates.
Sharafat had worked as a reporter for Radio Television Afghanistan for two years before his death, the station said in a statement. He was also a freelance journalist who contributed to the Zabul Times and other Afghan media outlets.
No one claimed responsibility for the attack. Zabul police opened an investigation into his murder, according to the national advocacy group the Afghanistan Journalists Center.
The Taliban has previously threatened Afghan journalists, particularly those working for state media, according to CPJ research and the Afghanistan Journalists Center.
Sharafat left behind his wife and an infant daughter.