KABUL – Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has warned that growing restrictions on visas and asylum are forcing more Afghan journalists back into Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, where they face arrest, torture, and even death.
In a statement marking the fourth anniversary of the Taliban’s return to power on 15 August 2021, RSF condemned the “relentless harassment” of media professionals and urged countries to offer urgent protection.
The organisation stressed that both transit states and final host countries must recognise the risks and stop deportations or expulsions that could put journalists directly in harm’s way.
Since the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan’s once-vibrant media landscape has collapsed under sweeping censorship, gender-based bans, and intimidation. RSF reports that at least 165 media professionals have been arrested, some tortured, and 12 media outlets shut down in 2024 alone. The repression has targeted both male and female journalists, with women facing near-total exclusion from the public sphere.
A Kabul TV news coordinator told RSF he faces growing intimidation from armed Taliban while reporting, has seen colleagues fired for alleged disloyalty, and has moved his family to safety, though limited funds leave Pakistan as his only escape option.
That route, however, is becoming increasingly hostile. RSF says Afghan exile journalists face shrinking visa durations, rising fees, and aggressive deportations in Pakistan. Since early 2025, at least 13 journalists supported by RSF in Pakistan have been sent back to Afghanistan despite ongoing asylum applications to third countries. Some have faced violent raids by police before being expelled.
Similar challenges are emerging in Europe. RSF notes that France, historically a key destination for Afghan journalists in exile, has recently increased visa refusals for those stranded in Pakistan.
The organisation stated that such policies amount to sending journalists “back into the Taliban trap.”
RSF is now calling on the international community to treat Afghan journalists’ plight as a matter of urgency.
“The reception accorded to Afghan journalists must be reassessed in light of the gravity of this crisis,” the group said. “Whether in transit or final destination, countries must guarantee protection, including by issuing visas, before more journalists are silenced or lost.”
