KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban morality police have detained a local journalist in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province, local sources said, as restrictions on journalists and media organizations continue to intensify under Taliban rule.
The journalist, Azizullah Aziz, provincial representative of the Afghanistan Journalists Safety Committee (AJSC) and an employee of local radio station Radio Hood, was taken into custody in Ghani Khel district on Friday morning, the sources said.
According to the sources, Taliban morality police officers raided Aziz’s home during a wedding ceremony, seized music equipment, and took him into custody following a verbal argument. He remains detained, they added.
The exact reason for the journalist’s detention remains unclear, and local Taliban authorities in Nangarhar have not commented on the incident.
The incident comes amid an ongoing crackdown on media in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. According to the Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC), the Taliban have arrested or detained at least 300 journalists and media workers since taking power in 2021, with at least seven still held in custody.
Afghanistan ranked 175th out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders’ 2026 World Press Freedom Index, placing it among the worst nations globally for press freedom.
Rights organizations have repeatedly warned that journalists in the country face growing risks, including censorship, harassment, arbitrary detention, and violence. Many media outlets have been forced to scale back operations or close amid the restrictive environment.
