Habibullah Najafizada, an environmental activist, says the Taliban have detained him on two separate occasions.
Najafizada wrote on Facebook on Tuesday evening, January 13, that he was first detained last winter by the Taliban’s intelligence agency in Daikundi province, but at the time, he chose not to make the incident public due to personal considerations.
He added that his second detention took place on Saturday of the current week in Kabul, where he was held and interrogated by the Taliban’s intelligence department for three days.
According to him, after the end of this period, he was released from custody last night and returned home.
Najafizada said the detentions caused concern among his family and relatives, and that the Taliban’s interrogations placed psychological pressure on him.
In part of his post, he wrote: “Today, my hoe did not strike the soil as it used to, so I could plant seeds, and at times I felt a sense of pride, and at other times I handed it to others.”
The environmental activist stressed that his activities have been entirely environmental in nature and should remain separate from politics.
Najafizada also wrote that following his release, he has resumed his environmental work, including planting saplings in the mountains of Kabul city.
