Following calls to action by citizens inside and outside the country to protest the detention of women in Herat and the crackdown on their demonstrations, the Taliban have stepped up the interrogation, detention, and imprisonment of social activists and social media users across the province. After the public protests in the Jibrail district of Herat, the group summoned a number of social media users, particularly vloggers, on charges of supporting the demonstrators, deleted their videos and posts, and issued warnings. One day later, however, a large number of those same individuals were detained by Taliban intelligence in Herat. Sources confirm that Taliban intelligence is now hunting for the families of women and men who published protest calls or critical videos against the group. The Hasht-e Subh Daily has also obtained documents confirming that local Taliban officials have acknowledged receiving such an order and are actively working to identify these individuals.
Last Tuesday, women and girls in the Jibrail district of Herat took to the streets to protest the Taliban’s mass detention of women on charges of not wearing the burqa, chanting “Education, Work, Freedom.” The Taliban responded with live fire, wounding several demonstrators.
The incident has ignited widespread outrage among citizens of the country, particularly among women and girls. In the aftermath, dozens of women inside and outside the country posted protest videos condemning the Taliban’s conduct and demanding change. In their messages, they declared that women cannot be erased and that they will continue fighting for their freedom, justice, and human dignity.
In the wake of the protests, the Taliban in Herat moved to detain vloggers and other social media users who had published content in support of the girls. Sources confirm that some of these vloggers were initially released after signing written pledges and deleting their supportive content, but were later re-arrested and imprisoned by the group’s intelligence forces. According to sources, those individuals are expected to be referred to Taliban courts on charges of “inciting unrest” against the Taliban regime. At least five vloggers were detained by Taliban intelligence in the latest wave of arrests.
Threatening Family Members of Protesters Outside Afghanistan
Sources have confirmed to the Hasht-e Subh Daily that following the detention of social activists and social media users, the Taliban have set out to identify individuals outside Afghanistan who issued protest calls or published critical videos. According to these sources, “orders were issued this morning to locate their homes and find their fathers, mothers, and brothers.”
Second Protest in Herat: Crowds Chant “Death to the Dictator”
Sources say the intensifying crackdown prevented a planned citywide protest in Herat from taking place. Despite a heavy security and military presence, several Herat residents took to the streets on Friday, chanting “Death to the Dictator.”
Video footage circulating on social media shows protesters marching in front of the Taliban’s provincial governor’s office in Herat, chanting “Death to the Dictator,” before being dispersed by Taliban gunfire. Sources confirm that during Friday’s protests, one teenager was wounded and four demonstrators were detained by the Taliban.
Women Protest in Tehran and Berlin
As part of a broader wave of demonstrations by citizens of Afghanistan across multiple countries, a group of women and girls gathered yesterday in front of the Taliban embassy in Tehran, chanting “Death to the Taliban” and “Education, Work, Freedom.” The protesters stressed that the Taliban have stripped women of all their basic rights and have responded to their demonstrations with bullets and violent suppression.
In Berlin, dozens of men and women from Afghanistan seeking asylum rallied in front of the Afghan embassy, now under Taliban control, urging the international community not to excuse or ignore the group’s treatment of women under the guise of engagement. The protesters observed a minute of silence for those wounded in Herat and for other women harmed by the Taliban, then chanted slogans including: “Our demand is justice, engaging with the Taliban is betrayal,” “Hibatullah Akhundzada is a murderer, his rule is illegitimate,” “Until the Taliban are in their shrouds, this land will not be home,” “The Taliban commit atrocities,” “The world stands in solidarity,” “From homes to the streets, death to the Taliban,” and “Bread, Work, Freedom.”
Meanwhile, numerous calls to action continue to circulate on social media, organized by citizens of Afghanistan abroad, with protests planned across several European countries in the coming days.
Sources have confirmed to the Hasht-e Subh Daily that during last Tuesday’s protests in Jibrail, Herat, two people were killed and nearly 30 others were wounded by Taliban gunfire. According to sources, many of the wounded have refused to seek hospital treatment out of fear of being detained by the Taliban.
Following the protests, the Taliban deployed additional fighters across Jibrail and other parts of Herat, while repositioning their intelligence operatives throughout the city to monitor and suppress any further protest activity.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
تشدید بازداشتها و سرکوب اعتراضها؛ طالبان از خانوادههای معترضان انتقام میگیرند
