KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) has called on the Taliban to allow the Lapis Media Office to resume its operations.
In a statement issued on Friday, August 28, the organization urged the Taliban to end restrictions on media activities and efforts to undermine independent media outlets in Afghanistan.
The AFJC called on the Taliban to allow the Lapis office to reopen and its employees to resume their work without restrictions or fear of arrest.
Citing its sources, the journalists’ organization said the Taliban intelligence service shut down the Lapis Media Office in Kabul on Wednesday, August 26.
According to the AFJC, Taliban intelligence officers confiscated the office’s equipment, including computers and data storage drives, when they closed the Lapis office on 12th Street in Kabul’s Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood.
The AFJC, citing a Taliban intelligence official, reported that the case against the Lapis Media Office is expected to be referred to a court following further review and investigation.
On Wednesday, the Taliban-affiliated media outlet Hindukush Voice reported the closure of the Lapis office. It claimed that some employees of the organization are living outside Afghanistan, while others who remain in the country are being sought by the Taliban.
According to Hindukush Voice, the Taliban accused Lapis of publishing short clips from films featuring partially nude scenes, concerts and other visual content that allegedly promotes Western lifestyles and ideas.
This is not the first time the Taliban have raided the Moby Group’s offices. On May 12, CPJ reported that dozens of Taliban intelligence officers raided the offices of Moby Group, the parent company of TOLOnews, after the broadcaster reported the detention of two of its journalists, Mansour Niazi and Imran Danish.
According to CPJ, Taliban forces confiscated employees’ phones, interrogated staff members for several hours and placed them under surveillance. 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, according to AFJC.
Lapis Media, which is affiliated with the Moby Group, produces media content and manages several film and music streaming platforms, including Barbud, Faza, Darya and Shams.
Moby Group is a media company operating in seven countries across Asia and Africa. Afghan businessman Saad Mohseni is one of its shareholders. The group has established several media organizations in Kabul, including TOLO, TOLOnews, Lemar TV, Arman FM and Arakozia Radio, as well as the Kabura dubbing and media production center, Barbud music production and distribution center, Lapis Media and several other affiliated organizations.
Over the past five years, Saad Mohseni has repeatedly called for greater international engagement with the Taliban.
In June 2026, Mohseni drew criticism from Afghans, particularly women and civil society activists, after describing the situation of women in Afghanistan as “normal” during a meeting in London. His remarks prompted a backlash from members of the Afghan public and women’s rights activists.
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.
In a report published on August 13, AFJC documented 102 violations against journalists and media freedom over the previous 12 months, including the detention of 15 journalists and media workers.
The watchdog said at least 29 media outlets and journalistic institutions were shut down or had their operating licenses revoked during the same period. It also reported that the Taliban had banned the publication and broadcasting of images of living beings in 25 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces.
