The Committee to Protect Journalists has called for the immediate and unconditional release of Mansour Niazi and Imran Danesh, two journalists from Tolo News, and for an end to harassment and pressure on the media. The committee described this Taliban action as indicative of the climate of fear and intimidation faced by journalists in Afghanistan.
Earlier, Afghanistan International reported that after the news of the arrest of the two Tolo News journalists was published on the media’s social networks, the Moby Group office was surrounded by Taliban intelligence agents for more than six hours. The Committee to Protect Journalists has confirmed this incident.
The statement from this press freedom organization said that the media office was surrounded by dozens of Taliban intelligence agents. During the raid, the Taliban confiscated the staff members’ phones and interrogated them.
Kunal Majumder, Asia-Pacific Program Coordinator for the committee, said: “The arrest of these journalists by the Taliban, followed by an attack on an independent media organization, underscores the climate of fear and intimidation that journalists in Afghanistan face.”
He also emphasized the importance of ensuring that media can operate freely and without interference in the country. Khabib Ghafran, spokesperson for the Taliban Ministry of Information and Culture, confirmed the arrest of the journalists, stating that their case is under investigation.
This Taliban official did not provide details regarding the reason for the journalists’ detention.
The Committee to Protect Journalists stated that since coming to power in Afghanistan, the Taliban have “destroyed” the country’s independent media sector and replaced it with their “propaganda empire.”
Writer:Salima Hakimi
