Taliban authorities detained Tamadon TV’s Mohammad Reza Ehsani on June 23 after raiding the broadcaster’s headquarters in the capital city Kabul and forcing it off the air.
Ehsani, who worked in the broadcaster’s logistics department, 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. Eshani was detained with Tamadon TV Managing Editor Mohammad Rahmati.
Both men are being held in Kabul provincial prison, reported London-based broadcaster Afghanistan International.
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.