Photo: @amnestysasia

Taliban Sentences Filmmaker to Three Years in Prison for Alleged Propaganda

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – A Taliban court has sentenced filmmaker Sayed Rahim Saidi to three years in prison, accusing him of spreading propaganda against the Taliban authorities, according to Amnesty International.

In a letter to Abdul Haq Wasiq, the Taliban General Director of Intelligence, Amnesty International expressed concern over Saidi’s arbitrary arrest and detention, calling for his immediate and unconditional release.

The rights group further revealed that Saidi, who also managed Anar Media, a YouTube-based broadcaster, is severely ill, suffering from lumbar disc herniation and prostate issues, and is not receiving adequate healthcare in Taliban custody.

“Between July and December, while he was held in GDI District 40, he was allegedly subjected to torture and other ill-treatment, including solitary confinement, and was denied access to the medicine sent by his family,” the rights group said.

Amnesty also urged the Taliban to cease the practice of arbitrary detention, torture, and mistreatment of individuals working to defend human rights, including those advocating for social change and non-discrimination.

This case is part of a broader pattern of the Taliban detaining and sentencing Afghans, particularly activists, journalists, and YouTubers, on charges of propaganda against the regime.

Earlier, a Taliban court in Kabul sentenced journalist and YouTuber Mahdi Ansary to one and a half years in prison on similar charges. Ansary, a reporter for Afghan News, a private local news agency, was arrested in Kabul in October of last year.

Similarly, last year, a Taliban court in Daykundi province, central Afghanistan, sentenced Sultan Ali Jawadi, a local journalist and manager of Radio Nasim, to one year in prison for “spreading propaganda” against the Taliban.