KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture has confirmed that two journalists from TOLOnews have been detained by the group’s security forces.
In a statement published yesterday (Tuesday, May 12), the ministry said that the case of these journalists is currently under review.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture stated that the group’s courts have not yet issued any ruling regarding the journalists.
The ministry did not specify the reason for their detention or where they are currently being held.
The journalists — Mansoor Niazi and Imran Danish, reporters for TOLOnews, and Jawed Niazi, editor of the local Paigard News Agency — were detained in separate incidents in Kabul in recent days, according to the Afghanistan Journalist Center (AFJC). Their whereabouts remain unknown, and Taliban authorities have not commented on the arrests or provided any explanation for their detention.
TOLOnews confirmed on Sunday that the Taliban had detained Mansour Niazi and Imran Danish, two of its journalists.
The media outlet also did not specify the reason for their detention.
AFJC said the arrests were carried out by members of the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI), which has been accused by press freedom groups of targeting journalists over their reporting and media activity.
The watchdog earlier condemned the arrests, calling them an attack on press freedom and demanding the immediate and unconditional release of the detained journalists. According to AFJC figures, at least seven journalists are currently detained or serving prison sentences in Afghanistan, highlighting what it described as an expanding crackdown on independent media.
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 AFJC 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.
These arrests 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.
