Education activist and campaigner Matiullah Wesa was released from Taliban custody on Thursday afternoon, October 26.
The activist’s brother, Attaullah Wesa, confirmed the news in a post on the X platform, saying Matiullah Wesa was released after spending 215 days in prison.
Wesa was arrested by Taliban agents in late March. He was actively advocating for girls’ education ever since the Taliban effectively banned secondary education for girls in September 2021.
Wesa is the founder of the Pen Path, an organization established in 2009 that promotes education primarily in rural areas by creating public libraries, collecting books, and launching mobile schools.
Richard Bennett, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, welcomed the release of Wesa and called for the immediate and unconditional release of all human rights defenders who remain in Taliban’s detention centers.
