Taliban authorities detained Tamadon TV Managing Editor Mohammad Rahmati on June 23 after raiding the broadcaster’s headquarters in the capital city Kabul and forcing it off the air.
Rahmati was detained at the Ministry of Justice offices in Kabul after being summoned under the pretext of discussing the shutdown with the minister, according to a statement by Tamadon TV. Rahmati was detained with his colleague, Mohammad Reza Ehsani, who worked in the station’s logistics department. He is being held in Kabul province’s detention center.
Rahmati, who suffers from heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure, has been denied access to medical treatment and his health has deteriorated while in detention, reported London-based broadcaster Afghanistan International.
Rahmati was being held in solitary confinement and had not been informed of any charges, said Tamadon TV owner Mohammad Jawad Mohseni.
Since seizing power in August 2021, the Taliban have decimated Afghanistan’s independent media sector and supplanted it with their own propaganda empire. Taliban authorities have extensively arrested Afghan journalists and forced hundreds to flee to neighboring countries.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Justice did not respond to CPJ’s emailed request for comment.