Reporters Without Borders (RSF) issued a press statement on Sunday, demanding the release of French-Afghan journalist Mortaza Behboudi from Taliban prison.
RSF and 14 French editorial offices or production companies with which Mortaza Behboudi collaborated called on the Taliban regime to release the Franco-Afghan reporter who has been imprisoned for a month in Kabul.
On January 5, 2023, Mortaza Behboudi traveled to Afghanistan for a report, the statement read. Barely 48 hours later, he was arrested while preparing to collect his press accreditation.
“In agreement with his family and relatives, we have kept the information confidential for a month, but the time has come to reveal the detention of the Franco-Afghan journalist Mortaza Behboudi in Kabul,” RSF Secretary-General and President of the Information and Democracy Forum, Christophe Deloire, said on Twitter.
🚨En accord avec sa famille et ses proches, nous avons conservé l'information confidentielle pendant un mois, mais l'heure est venue de révéler la détention du journaliste franco-afghan Mortaza Behboudi à Kaboul. Merci à tous ses confrères qui lancent un appel avec @RSF_inter. https://t.co/jZp43sI4rA pic.twitter.com/CMjMcsc7LG
— Christophe Deloire (@cdeloire) February 6, 2023
Franco-Afghan reporter Mortaza Behboudi would be under the charge of espionage, the RSF statement read.
Behboudi, born in Afghanistan, has been working with numerous French media outlets. He is co-author of the series of reports Through Afghanistan, under the Taliban, published on Mediapart and awarded in 2022 by the Bayeux prize for war correspondents and the Varenne prize for the national daily press .
Detention of journalists in Afghanistan under Taliban rule have taken place repeatedly. Since claiming power in August 2021, the Taliban have detained and tortured dozens of journalists.
