KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Afghanistan Journalist Center (AFJC) reports that the Taliban have released Ramin Amiri, the head of Solh TV, a private channel in Herat province, after 48 days of detention.
In a statement released on Wednesday, May 8, the AFJC welcomed Mr. Amiri’s release and denounced his arbitrary arrest and detention as illegal, citing a failure to follow proper legal procedures.
The media watchdog says that his release was secured by providing a guarantee to the Taliban court.
According to the AFJC statement, Mr. Amiri was summoned and detained by the Taliban intelligence department in Herat on March 21, allegedly due to charges associated with a financial matter related to his media activities.
The media watchdog calls on Taliban authorities to handle any complaints against Mr. Amiri through the Media Complaints and Violations Commission in a “fair and unbiased” manner, in accordance with Afghanistan’s media laws.
Since the return of the Taliban, Afghanistan’s once-thriving free-press sector has experienced a near-total collapse, with dozens of outlets being silenced and hundreds of journalists and media professionals forced to flee the country.
Over the course of nearly three years, dozens of journalists and media workers have been detained, tortured, and in some cases killed. According to AFJC, there have been 136 documented incidents of journalists’ rights violations in Afghanistan over the past 12 months, with 64 of them involving the arrest of journalists and media workers, three of whom are still in Taliban custody.
In most cases, the Taliban accuses journalists and media workers of collaborating with exiled media outlets and engaging in espionage for foreign media entities and groups that oppose the regime.
On Saturday, May 4th, Taliban intelligence agents detained a local journalist identified as Neda Mohammad Noori in eastern Parwan province, accusing him of collaborating and spying for exiled media.
While the journalist was released after three days of captivity upon providing a guarantee, AFJC says that the arrest should not have occurred in the first place, emphasizing that the Taliban’s detention of journalists and media workers for such allegations contradicts Afghanistan’s media laws.
AJFC warns about the ongoing arrest of Afghan journalists and media workers by the Taliban, stressing the potential consequences, including heightened self-censorship and severe restrictions on freedom of expression in the country.
The media watchdog calls on the Taliban authorities to respect the freedom of the media and uphold the rights of journalists and media workers to work independently and without fear of reprisal.
