KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – A coalition of 360 journalists, media workers, and human rights activists has urged UN Secretary-General António Guterres to press the Taliban for the immediate and unconditional release of Afghan journalists held by the group.
In an open letter issued in recent days, the signatories said several journalists, including Shakib Ahmad Nazari, Bashir Hatef, and Hamid Farhadi, were arrested over their professional reporting and media activities.
The group said the detainees were being held solely for performing journalistic duties. “Our colleagues are spending their nights in detention for one reason only: to shed light on the truth and inform the public,” the letter said, adding that the arrests violate freedom of expression and international human rights standards.
The signatories cited what they described as credible sources indicating that the physical and psychological condition of some detainees, particularly Nazari and Hatef, had become “deeply concerning.” They warned that prolonged neglect could lead to serious health consequences and held Taliban authorities responsible for the detainees’ well-being.
They also said the imprisonment of journalists has contributed to a climate of fear among media workers and has disrupted the flow of information to the public.
The signatories called on the Taliban to free all detained journalists without conditions. They also urged the United Nations, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), and other international bodies to intensify diplomatic pressure and advocacy efforts aimed at protecting journalists and securing their release.
Taliban courts have previously sentenced Nazari to three years in prison on charges of “cooperating with a Japanese media outlet,” while Farhadi received a two-year sentence for alleged cooperation with the exiled independent newspaper Etilaatroz. Farhadi has reportedly been transferred to Bagram prison, where political detainees are held. Hatef remains in custody, though details of his case are less clear in public reports.
Afghanistan’s media environment has sharply deteriorated since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, with journalists facing arrests, censorship, intimidation, and restrictions linked to their reporting, social media activity, or alleged ties to exiled media outlets.
The Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) documented 207 media rights violations during the solar year 1404 (March 2025 to March 2026), including two journalist killings, one injury, 183 threats, and 21 arrests — a more than 20% increase from the previous year. At least five journalists remained in detention at the time of the report.
Rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and media watchdogs, have repeatedly condemned arbitrary detentions, torture, forced confessions, and the Taliban’s “single voice” policy that turned state-affiliated media into propaganda tools. Afghanistan ranked 175th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2025 World Press Freedom Index.
