UN report: Taliban have detained Afghan journalists more than 250 times

 

FILE – Afghan journalists attend a press conference by Afghanistan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Amir Khan Muttaqi, in Kabul on September 19, 2024.

washington —

Journalists in Afghanistan are forced to navigate an environment of “censorship and tight restrictions” under Taliban rule, the United Nations has said.

From the Taliban takeover on August 15, 2021, to September 30 of this year, the Taliban have detained journalists 256 times and 130 cases of torture and poor treatment have been documented, according to the report published Tuesday by the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA.

The report documents the “arbitrary arrests, torture, and violence” that journalists have been subject to since 2021, according to Freshta Hemmati, of the Afghanistan Journalists Support Organization.

“They are working under the severe pressure of censorship and restrictions,” she told VOA.

The Taliban-led foreign ministry said that the figures in the report were “exaggerated” and that journalists are detained only for violations of law, the Reuters news agency reported.

The ministry cited crimes including defaming the government, false or baseless reports, and providing material to media outlets against the system, Reuters reported.

Embed



share

From exile, Afghan outlets find ways to amplify women’s voices

Embed



share

The code has been copied to your clipboard.

---

width

px


height

px

• 
  Share on Facebook

• 
  Share on Twitter

  ---

  The URL has been copied to your clipboard

  
  
  
  
  

  No media source currently available

  
  
  
  
  
  

  0:00
  
  0:02:48
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  0:00
  
  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Download
  
  

  • 240p | 8.0MB

  • 360p | 13.2MB

  • 480p | 23.8MB

  • 720p | 42.6MB

  • 1080p | 69.4MB

  The Taliban foreign ministry, in its response to the UNAMA report, said women were free to work if they met conditions, such as covering their faces and working separately from men.

  Watchdogs have called on Afghan authorities to uphold press freedom by respecting the country’s media law, ratified nearly a decade ago. This law outlines the right to free expression in the country, with the goal of protecting journalists, according to the Afghanistan Journalists Center.

  The UNAMA report called on the Taliban to improve conditions for media.

  “We urge the de facto authorities to ensure the safety and security of all journalists and media workers as they carry out their tasks, and to fully recognize the importance of women working in the media sector,” Roza Otunbayeva, special representative of the secretary-general and head of UNAMA, said in the report.

  Afghanistan is ranked at No. 178 out of 180 on the Press Freedom Index, where 1 signals the best environment. In 2021, before the Taliban takeover, the country ranked 122nd.

  Sahar Azimi of VOA’s Afghan Service contributed to this report.

   

  By：VOA

  Related posts:

  Taliban publicly flog Afghan woman, 3 men amid UN outcry UN finds surge in Afghan opium poppy cultivation despite Taliban ban Taliban announce scheduled public execution for Afghan murder convict Taliban publicly execute Afghan murder convict Afghan girls turn to online learning, defying Taliban education ban  European allies face challenging times, whoever wins US presidential election India's capital chokes as air pollution levels hit 50 times the safe limit  READ IN FULL | Sunday Times Top 100 Companies 2020 China expecting harder times after Trump victory Taliban leaders in Afghanistan host rare official talks with India Taliban delegation in Azerbaijan to make debut at UN climate summit Taliban relocation plan could worsen humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, analysts say