Some employees of Bamyan National Radio and Television network have beaten Eshaq Akrami, the Bamyan head of Afghanistan National Journalists Union (ANJU) in the central Bamyan province, said Fahim Dashti, the Executive Director of the ANJU.
Dashti told Kabul Now that Mr. Akrami was beaten by employees of the state-run TV network on Saturday morning, March 13, in the capital city of Bamyan. As per his account, Akrami has been taken to the hospital for treatment, and he is in good health condition. “Mr. Akrami was in the ANJU office in Bamyan when six to seven technical and administrative employees of the national TV network broke into his office. They have verbally abused and physically beaten him.”
He said that Bamyan police remained silent despite Mr. Akrami took the local police department on board regarding the incident.
The National Radio and Television network denied commenting in this regard though Kabul Now contacted it.
Local journalists have reacted to the violence.
Zaman Ahmadi, a local journalist, called on the local government to launch an impartial and immediate investigation into the incident—underling that any sort of neglect by the local government would mean that it is seeking to limit freedom of the press in the province.
Describing the current situation as “concerning” for journalists in Bamyan, Elyas Taheri, another local journalist, noted that the local journalists have faced restrictions in their activities in the central Bamyan province in recent months.
This comes as Afghanistan is witnessing an unprecedented hike in the level of violence against journalists, especially the targeted killing, in its major cities. At least 14 journalists have been killed in recent target killings across the country.
