report in ToloNews, Dec 13, 2023 at 9:34 PM
At least seven journalists have been detained in the southern zone of Afghanistan in the current solar year (March 22, 2023, onward), a media watchdog said.
Sultan Ali Jawadi, editor in chief of Naseem radio station, was arrested in September in Daikundi. He was recently sentenced to one year in prison.
“Jawadi has been detained for one-year in prison for not obeying the Islamic Emirate. They were broadcasting their content without any filter even if it was against the Islamic Emirate,” said Mustafa Saleh, head of the department of Information and Culture (MoIC).
“We want a delegation to be appointed from Kabul and for the order regarding Mr. Jawadi to be reconsidered. If Mr. Jawadi committed any violation, it should be addressed through the media violation law,” said Murtaza Ahmadi, a colleague of Jawadi.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Emirate’s forces also arrested Abdul Rahim Mohammadi, a journalist of Tamadon TV channel in Kandahar province. He is still under investigation.
The head of the office of the Afghanistan Journalists Safety Committee, Ahmad Lodin, said despite a reduction in cases of violations against journalists, some journalists are still being detained by the Islamic Emirate.
“We had 11 cases of arrests in [2022] in this zone. But this year, in 2023, we fortunately had 7 cases and we hope the cases of violence will decrease gradually,” he said.
“As much as we provide facilities for the journalists in their work environment, their work is extended to that level,” said Qudratullah Rizwan, a journalist.
But the Islamic Emirate’s spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said that the arrest of these journalists is not because of their work in the media.
“Sometimes they (journalists) are involved in violation of laws. It is not only the issue of media but we would still investigate this issue. As the issue is in the court, it seems to be a legal issue and not a media issue,” he said.
This comes as NAI, an organization supporting open media in Afghanistan, said that it has recorded nearly 110 cases of violence against journalists and media workers in 2023.
https://tolonews.com/index.php/afghanistan-186479
