The Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) has published a report detailing 366 incidents of violations against journalists’ rights and media freedom over the course of the two-year Taliban rule. These incidents encompass a range of issues, including fatalities among media personnel, threats, detentions, and violent confrontations.
On Monday, August 14, AFJC released its comprehensive two-year report on the state of media freedom in Afghanistan.
According to the report, instances of violations against journalists’ and media rights have witnessed an alarming surge, accompanied by an intensified crackdown on independent media outlets within the country.
The center also highlighted that the recorded incidents comprise three cases involving the loss of lives among media personnel, 23 cases of journalists sustaining injuries, and 176 cases of temporary and mid-term detentions. Shockingly, some of these detentions have extended for months, with nine individuals currently remaining in Taliban custody.
Furthermore, the organization revealed that, within the past two years, it had documented 139 cases of threats and 25 instances of physical violence and beatings directed at journalists.
Throughout the span of the Taliban’s two-year rule, the Afghanistan Journalists Center disclosed that a significant number of journalists and media personnel, particularly women in the field, have either lost their jobs or been coerced into leaving the country. Regrettably, this distressing trend continues unabated.
It is worth noting that since the emergence of the Taliban in Afghanistan, this group has systematically imposed stringent restrictions on journalists and media operations within the country.
