Taliban detains Iranian photojournalist Mohammad Hossein Velayati in Afghanistan
New York, August 22, 2023 — Taliban authorities should immediately and unconditionally release Iranian photojournalist Mohammad Hossein Velayati and cease harassing members of the press in Afghanistan, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On August 19, Taliban authorities detained Velayati, a photographer for Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency, at Kabul International Airport before he…
Taliban authorities detain 2 journalists, ban women’s voices from broadcasts in Helmand
New York, August 15, 2023 — Taliban authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalist Ataullah Omar, stop harassing members of the press, and drop all restrictions on women’s ability to work in the media, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Sunday, August 13, Taliban intelligence agents summoned Omar, a journalist at the independent…
Two years into Taliban rule, media repression worsens in Afghanistan
When the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in 2021, they promised to protect press freedom and women’s rights – a key facet of their efforts to paint a picture of moderation compared to their oppressive rule in the late 1990s. “We are committed to the media within our cultural frameworks. Private media can continue to…
Taliban shuts down Afghan broadcaster Hamisha Bahar over mixed-gender journalism training
New York, August 3, 2023—Taliban authorities must stop their relentless crackdown on the media in Afghanistan and allow private broadcaster Hamisha Bahar Radio and TV to continue its work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On Sunday, July 30, about 20 members of the Taliban provincial police raided the office of Hamisha Bahar Radio…
Taliban intelligence forces detain Afghan journalist Irfanullah Baidar
New York, July 21, 2023 — The Taliban must immediately release journalist Irfanullah Baidar and stop detaining members of the press in Afghanistan, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On July 12, officers with the Taliban General Directorate of Intelligence stopped Baidar near the Eidgah Mosque in the eastern city of Jalalabad, covered his head with a sack, and forced him into a vehicle, according to news reports and…
Taliban detains 4 Afghan journalists in Khost province
New York, May 9, 2023 – The Taliban must immediately release four journalists recently detained for their work and cease harassing members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Monday, May 8, the provincial directorate of the Taliban-controlled Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in the eastern…
Taliban bans Washington Post journalist Susannah George from returning to Afghanistan
New York, April 20, 2023—Taliban authorities must allow Washington Post journalist Susannah George to return to and work from Afghanistan and should stop all attempts to restrict the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. In a statement on Thursday, April 20, Washington Post Executive Editor Sally Buzbee said that George, the paper’s Islamabad-based…
‘Living in fear’: Exiled Afghan journalists face arrest, hunger in Pakistan
Stuck with no income for more than a year after fleeing Afghanistan for Pakistan, Samiullah Jahesh was ready to sell his kidney to put food on the table for his family. “I had no other option, I had no money or food at home,” Jahesh, a former journalist with Afghanistan’s independent Ariana News TV channel,…
Taliban shut down women-run broadcaster Radio Sada e Banowan, seal office
New York, March 31, 2023—Taliban authorities must stop their crackdown on local media in Afghanistan and allow the independent women-run Radio Sada e Banowan broadcaster to continue its work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Thursday, March 30, authorities in the city of Faizabad, in Badakhshan province, shuttered the broadcaster’s operations and sealed…
Journalist Hosein Naderi revealed to have died in bombing at Afghan press event
New York, March 14, 2023–The Taliban must ensure that those responsible for the recent bombing at a press award event that killed journalist Hosein Naderi are brought to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Saturday, March 11, a bomb exploded at a cultural center in Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of northern Balkh province,…