KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on Taliban authorities to investigate the arbitrary detention and severe beating of local journalist Abdullah Danish by the regime’s intelligence agents.
In a statement on Thursday, June 20, CPJ urged the Taliban to take responsibility for the safety of the media and to allow reporters to critically cover issues of public interest without fear of reprisal.
The local journalist was detained by Taliban intelligence agents in Bagram district of eastern Parwan province on June 13 while he was traveling from Kabul to Parwan province.
While the Taliban released the journalist after two days of captivity on June 15, CPJ discloses that he was held in an undisclosed location, severely beaten, and sustained a head injury before his release.
A local source previously said that Mr. Danish had worked as a broadcast director at Dunya Radio, a reporter and presenter at Mitra TV, and a program host and research manager at Maarif TV.
Although the Taliban did not disclose the reason for the journalist’s two-day detention, CPJ cited its source saying that the journalist was questioned over a report critical of the Taliban’s education policies and a social media post alleging the Taliban’s use of schools as military bases in Kapisa province.
“The Taliban must immediately and impartially investigate the arbitrary detention and beating of journalist Abdullah Danish and hold those responsible to account,” said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi.
“It is high time for the Taliban to take responsibility for the safety of the media and to allow reporters to critically cover issues of public interest without fear of reprisal,” she added.
This incident marks the latest wave of journalist detentions and beatings by the Taliban since their return to power in Afghanistan. Over the past nearly three years, the regime has detained, tortured, and in some cases, even killed dozens of journalists in the country.
Most often, the Taliban accuses journalists of criticizing the regime’s policies, collaborating with exiled media outlets, or engaging in espionage for foreign media.
In the past year alone, according to the Afghanistan Journalist Center (AFJC), the Taliban has detained at least 64 journalists and media workers across Afghanistan.
While no journalists were killed in 2023, the Afghan media watchdog notes a significant rise in Taliban interference through the General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) and the Ministry of Virtue and Vice.
