Sources reported on Friday, 30 Asad, that Mohammad Arif Hijran, a veteran Afghan journalist, had been released after nearly two years in Taliban custody. Hijran was arrested by Taliban forces in Kabul in 2024 and was subsequently sentenced to 10 years in prison by a Taliban military court.
Taliban authorities arrested Mohammad Arif Hijran and another journalist, Ahmad Kamran, on 16 Saratan 1403 in the Khair Khana area of Kabul. On 27 Sonbola of the same year, a Taliban military court sentenced both journalists to 10 years in prison on charges brought against them.
According to the charges presented before the Taliban military court, Mohammad Arif Hijran had photographed Taliban checkpoints and personnel and sent the images to a publication outside Afghanistan. No further details have been provided about the judicial proceedings or the circumstances surrounding his release.
Mohammad Arif Hijran, a journalist from Panjshir who lived in Kabul, was a member of the Afghan Journalists Union and the editor of the Haft-Khan weekly. Before his arrest, he had also worked with the Panjara weekly and several other Afghan media outlets, pursuing a career in journalism and the media.
Media and journalists’ rights organizations had previously condemned Hijran’s arrest and conviction and called for his release. His release after nearly two years in detention comes as details regarding the circumstances and conditions of his release have yet to be officially disclosed.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
