Five years after the Taliban’s return to power, the group continues its strategy of silencing journalists. Torture, detention, arbitrary sentences, and blocking media outlets are among the measures used to achieve this. At the center of this system of surveillance and suppression of the media sits the notorious Directorate 015 of the Taliban’s intelligence service, which is also responsible for waging a propaganda war and influencing public opinion online.
Several journalists from Afghanistan have agreed to share their accounts with Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Some of them have spoken about their experiences for the first time, with their identities withheld for security reasons.
Célia Mercier, head of the South Asia desk at RSF, says: “The Taliban have built a real system of surveillance, intimidation and repression to silence the media in Afghanistan. Directorate 015 is at the center of this system, in which journalists are treated as enemies of the regime solely for carrying out their professional duties. Arbitrary detentions, threats, interrogations, and torture… The accounts RSF has gathered point to extremely serious and alarming practices, carried out to create an atmosphere of censorship and terror and force journalists into silence. These practices are part of a strategy to completely suppress journalism, and they confirm the standing of the Taliban Supreme Leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, as one of the enemies of press freedom in 2026.”
With his head covered by a black cloth bag, Farhad*, a journalist who had been detained a few hours earlier, is taken by car to one of the Directorates of the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) in Kabul.
One of the officers tells him: “You are a spy.”
His mobile phone and computer are searched thoroughly. The interrogation begins, and the beatings continue. His alleged offense is that he dared to report on the daily lives of ordinary people, and for this he is accused of spreading propaganda against the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA).”
He is one of 77 journalists who, since 2021, have been detained and imprisoned for periods ranging from one week to two years during a sweeping wave of arrests aimed at instilling fear among media workers.
In this campaign of repression, one body plays a key role: Directorate 015, where Farhad was taken a few days after his arrest.
The journalist says: “Directorate 015 deals only with journalists’ affairs and monitors all media outlets.” He was held for two weeks in a very small cell in this Directorate of the Taliban.
He says: “I was alone and sometimes I heard voices, but I did not see any other prisoners.”
Different people took turns interrogating him.
Farhad says: “I endured most of the torture there. Whenever they wanted, day or night, they interrogated me. They wanted me to identify other journalists, but I resisted. They struck my back and legs with extremely violent blows and also used an electric shock gun. I still suffer from the effects of this torture.”
Directorate 015: A Body for Monitoring and Suppressing Journalists in Afghanistan
Directorate 015, which is widely feared and notorious among journalists in Afghanistan, has operated under the Taliban’s GDI since the group’s return to power in August 2021.
The Directorate has officers at its headquarters in Kabul as well as in the provinces. These officers monitor the content of Afghanistan’s media outlets, including radio and television stations, and report anything they consider problematic.
They summon and threaten journalists whose reports are deemed critical.
Through its operations department, which is often in contact with the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the Directorate’s officers raid the offices of media outlets in Afghanistan, detain journalists, and confiscate media equipment.
Examples include the raid on the television network TOLOnews in May 2026, as well as the attack on the offices of the federation of journalists and media organizations in Afghanistan in July 2025.
“Wherever you are and wherever you hide, we will find you.”
Since returning to power, the Taliban have imposed severe censorship on the media.
Ahmad*, another journalist who spoke with RSF, says: “In fact, carrying out the duties of a journalist meant opposing the Taliban.”
He adds: “In the first years, we tried to continue our work, but our lives were in danger.”
Ahmad was eventually forced to leave Afghanistan.
According to Ahmad, who worked at a television network, the pressure began with bans on broadcasting certain programs and the gradual removal of women journalists.
Shortly after the Taliban returned to power, the outlet was forced to pledge to the Ministry of Information and Culture that it would not air “mixed programs” and would not interview people who hold views opposed to the regime.
The pressure gradually increased, and Ahmad was repeatedly summoned to the Directorate 015 for broadcasting reports that the Taliban did not approve of.
Abdul*, another journalist who is now in exile, says: “They want to turn the media into propaganda outlets in service of those in power, outlets that publish only the content they want.”
RSF has identified more than 20 nationwide directives and a growing number of provincial decrees aimed at eliminating press freedom.
Abdul, who worked in audiovisual media, says he too was repeatedly threatened when summoned to the Directorate 015.
The journalist says: “They told me: you do not need to report on women’s rights, security incidents or poverty. You must invite people who support us, not those who oppose national interests.”
In audio messages obtained by RSF, members of the Directorate 015 repeatedly threaten journalists.
They demand that journalists not give a platform to people whom they describe as “provocateurs” who “question the policies of the Islamic Emirate [of the Taliban],” and instead invite “analysts” whose names appear on a list prepared by the Taliban.
According to one journalist, this list includes no more than 50 people.
One of the officers of the Directorate says: “Our cooperation must be mutual,” and then asks the media outlets to produce and publish reports and interviews on topics of interest to the Taliban.
The threats continue even after journalists go into exile. One threatening message reads: “Wherever you are and wherever you hide, we will find you.”
Torture and Mock Executions
One day, Ahmad is forcibly taken to the Directorate 015. During the interrogation, like several other journalists, he is accused of espionage.
He says: “They tortured me. The blows were so severe that I eventually lost consciousness.”
The journalist is then transferred to another department of the Taliban’s GDI.
Because the Directorate 015 has no prison of its own, most detainees are transferred after interrogation to Directorate 40 or Directorate 90 of the GDI.
During his long detention, Ahmad managed to see his family only twice. He was also subjected to psychological torture through a mock execution.
The journalist says: “At two o’clock in the morning, they took me to the top of a hill. They pointed a gun at my temple and said that they had killed several people like me right there.”
He was eventually tried in a court and sentenced to prison on charges of “propaganda against the regime.”
After several months, Ahmad was transferred to the notorious Bagram prison, about 60 kilometers north of Kabul, where, in his words, “journalists are treated like criminals.”
Ahmad says his hands and feet were always tied there, even when he needed to go to the toilet. He also speaks of punishments involving cold water.
After his release from prison, the journalist left Afghanistan.
RSF contacted Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesperson of the Taliban, about the suppression of journalists by the Directorate 015.
In response, he said that “the responsible bodies, including Directorate 015 of the GDI, carry out their activities in accordance with the law.”
He claimed: “No one is subjected to arbitrary treatment and no individual is arbitrarily detained.”
These remarks come as the open suppression of Afghanistan’s media environment and the widespread violation of press freedom have been documented by various organizations, including RSF and Human Rights Watch (HRW).
Suspicious Pro-Taliban Accounts on Social Media
The violent suppression of journalists is only part of the Taliban’s effort to control information. The group is also working to dominate the flow of information online.
Directorate 015 plays a key role here as well. According to RSF’s information, a specific department within the Directorate is responsible for monitoring social media.
Officers in this department identify content they consider problematic and record it in a report.
One department of the Directorate is also responsible for propaganda, launching disinformation campaigns online and manipulating public opinion.
Directorate 015 also has a dedicated studio where videos are produced and forced confessions from detainees are recorded.
In September 2026, several media outlets, including the exiled outlet Hasht-e Subh Media, published documents said to have been obtained from the Taliban’s GDI.
One of these documents reveals details of a propaganda and public opinion influence program whose projected budget is stated to be 70.7 million Afghanis, equivalent to more than 900,000 euros.
The documents also point to the existence of nearly 1,500 social media accounts used, among other purposes, to promote the regime, discredit opponents and spread narratives supported by the IEA.
Among these accounts are those of some pro-Taliban media outlets as well as personal profiles.
RSF’s review of content posted in August 2026 on the X (formerly Twitter) accounts mentioned in these documents confirms the pro-Taliban orientation of these accounts.
These posts regularly highlight the achievements of Taliban officials, celebrate the group’s victory in August 2021, and criticize and denigrate opposition movements.
Identical or very similar messages are also published by several accounts, sometimes only minutes apart.
Some of these accounts use female identities. Some of them present themselves as residents of Panjshir Province, a province that was historically one of the strongholds of resistance against the Taliban.
These findings are consistent with the results of an investigation published by the independent outlet Hasht-e Subh Media in May 2025. That investigation also identified the coordinated publication of messages and the use of fake female identities to spread pro-Taliban content, at a time when the Taliban have deprived women of their fundamental rights.
*The journalists’ names have been changed for security reasons.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
