The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joined the campaign calling for Mortaza Behboudi’s immediate release a month after the Taliban arrested him in Kabul.
French-Afghan journalist Mortaza Behboudi was arrested in Kabul on 7 January. With the European Federation of Journalists, we join the appeal of our affiliates SNJ_national, SnjCgt, USJCFDT, SgjFo and other media organizations calling for his immediate release, a press statement issued by the IFJ on Friday read.
“The SNJ, SNJ-CGT, CFDT-Journalistes and SGJ-FO – members of the IFJ and the EFJ – expect the French authorities to do everything possible to obtain the immediate release of our colleague,” the IFJ said.
A journalist’s imprisonment, according to their advocates, is an attack on the right to be informed and to be able to inform others.
Mortaza Behboudi, a French-Afghan journalist living in France, was arrested on 7 January in Kabul, two days after arriving in Afghanistan, as he was about to collect his press accreditation, the IFJ detailed.
As of yet, there have been no comments from the Taliban on this issue.
He was preparing to report on the situation in Afghanistan after returning to his native country. His fate remains unknown following his arrest by the Taliban on January 7.
