KABUL – The Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) has reported that the Taliban have detained at least seven journalists and media workers over the past three weeks in Kabul and at least one other province, raising renewed concerns over media suppression under Taliban rule.
In a statement on Monday, the AFJC said the arrests were carried out by Taliban intelligence agents in coordination with personnel from the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.
According to information obtained by the organization, Taliban intelligence forces arrested a journalist and two media activists on July 22, accusing them of organizing educational programs for girls. Their professional equipment was seized during the operation, and they were subsequently transferred to Taliban intelligence custody. The exact location of their detention has not been disclosed.
A separate incident on July 21 involved the arrest of another individual in Kabul’s Kart-e-Seh neighborhood. He was accused of designing and providing technical support for news websites operated by Afghan media in exile. He too was taken to a Taliban-run detention facility.
Earlier in the month, on July 6, Taliban intelligence forces detained a journalist in a provincial area for reporting stories that reportedly contradicted the group’s approved narratives. The journalist was released two days later after signing a pledge to comply with Taliban-imposed restrictions and providing personal guarantors.
AFJC said it is withholding the names and precise locations of the detained individuals due to safety concerns.
The crackdown also extended to a private media company in Kabul. On July 14, Taliban agents raided the office of Pixel, a media production firm, and arrested its director, Navid Ahmad Asghari, and deputy, Mushtaq Ahmad Halimi. They confiscated all company equipment, including video cameras, computers, and digital storage devices.
The Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice later confirmed the arrests, claiming the men were detained for dubbing foreign television dramas and promoting Western culture. The ministry also released a video of a confession by one of the detainees, though the circumstances under which the video was recorded remain unclear.
The Afghanistan Journalists Center strongly condemned the arrests and called on the Taliban to release all detained journalists and respect freedom of the press.
Since retaking power in 2021, the Taliban have repeatedly targeted journalists through arbitrary arrests, harassment, and office raids. Numerous media outlets have been forced to shut down, and many reporters now operate under constant threat.
