KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Local sources in Kabul say that the Taliban have released Omran Danish and Mansoor Niazi, journalists of TOLOnews, after two weeks in detention.
According to the sources, the two journalists were released yesterday (Tuesday, May 26), ahead of Eid al-Adha, and reunited with their families.
According to a statement by the Afghanistan Journalists Center, Taliban intelligence forces arrested Mansoor Niazi on May 7 from the Karte Char area of Kabul. Omran Danish was arrested by the Taliban three days later in Kabul.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture confirmed the arrests of the journalists and said that their cases were under investigation.
The ministry did not specify the reasons for their detention. TOLOnews also confirmed the arrests of its two journalists but did not explain the reason behind them.
The media environment in Afghanistan has deteriorated significantly since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. Journalists report facing arrests, censorship, interrogations, and pressure linked to their reporting, online activity, or alleged associations with exiled Afghan media outlets.
The Afghanistan Journalist Center has documented at least 150 violations of press freedom and incidents of violence against journalists since May 2025, including 127 threats and 20 arrests. Reporters Without Borders ranked Afghanistan 175th out of 180 countries in its 2026 World Press Freedom Index, placing it among the worst countries globally for media freedom.
The arrests and release of these journalists have raised fresh concerns among press freedom advocates, who say the continued detention of journalists reflects the growing restrictions on independent media and freedom of expression in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.
