The Afghanistan Journalists Center has reported that at least 10 journalists and media workers are currently in Taliban custody. The center has called for their immediate and unconditional release. In the most recent case, the Taliban intelligence agency has arrested journalist Rashid Kashifi for the second time in Kabul.
Quoting a source, the Afghanistan Journalists Center stated that the Taliban detained the journalist on charges of collaborating with foreign media outlets. The Taliban had also arrested and beaten Rashid Kashifi in Kabul in December 2021.
According to the Afghan Journalists Support Organization, Rashid Kashifi is a journalist with Rasa TV and The Kabul Times.
According to the statistics provided by the Afghanistan Journalists Center, in addition to Rashid Kashifi, at least nine other journalists and media workers are either currently detained by the Taliban or are serving sentences in the group’s prisons.
Six of them have been sentenced to imprisonment ranging from seven months to three years.
The Afghanistan Journalists Center has warned that the continued detention of journalists threatens freedom of expression and constitutes a violation of human rights.
The Afghan Women’s Justice Movement has condemned the arrest of journalist Rashid Kashifi by the Taliban intelligence agency and called for his immediate release. The movement stated that the detention of journalists is part of the Taliban’s widespread crackdown on the media and freedom of expression.
