KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Amnesty International reiterates its call for the immediate and unconditional release of women’s rights defender Manizha Seddiqi, along with education activists Ahmad Fahim Azimi and Sediqullah Afghan.
In a statement on Monday, the rights group said that the Taliban had arbitrarily detained these individuals and refused to release them despite lacking evidence against them.
Amnesty International calls on its social media followers to unite and advocate for the release of these rights activists from Taliban detention.
The rights group says that Manizha Seddiqi was forcibly disappeared on October 9, 2023, and later found in Taliban custody. She was sent to prison on December 5, 2023.
“She does not have access to lawyers or regular family visits while in prison and is at risk of torture and other ill treatment,” Amnesty International said, emphasizing that she has not been charged with any offenses.
Last month, a Taliban court in Kabul sentenced Manizha Seddiqi to two years in prison without disclosing the charges against her.
Ms. Sediqi, affiliated with the Spontaneous Movement of Afghan Women, a women-led movement formed after the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, has been actively involved in advocating for the human rights of women and girls in the country.
The family of Ms. Sediqi had previously expressed concern about her well-being, emphasizing that she is in critical condition. They have appealed to human rights organizations and the international community for assistance, urging intervention to guarantee her safety.
According to Amnesty International, the education activists Ahmad Fahim Azimi and Seddiqullah Afghan were arbitrarily arrested by the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) at their office in the Karte-e-Char neighborhood of Kabul in October 2023.
The two activists, as indicated by the rights group, were working with the education organization named Fekre Behtar (Better Idea). They were accused by the Taliban of opposing the regime’s authorities and assisting girls from the national robotic team to leave the country following the group’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021.
The human rights organization emphasized that the activists were denied access to a lawyer during interrogation or medical support. Their personal belongings, such as laptops, passports, cash, and flash drives containing educational content, as well as information on teachers and students, were seized during their detention.
“After being held for 72 days for interrogation in the GDI District 40, they were trialed on 27 December 2023, and subsequently sent to Pul-e-Charkhi prison,” the organization said.
Previously, Amnesty International penned separate letters to the Taliban Director of Intelligence, Abdul Haq Wasiq, expressing concerns about the arbitrary detention of these individuals and calling for their immediate and unconditional release from Taliban custody.
