By Nasir Ahmad Salehi in ToloNews, Aug 20, 2023 at 8:39 PM
The deputy Minister of Information and Culture, Hayatullah Mahajar Farahi, said that no other entity but the culture ministry has the right to interfere in media work.
Speaking at a press conference in Herat, Farahi said that some journalists have been detained on charges of working with the media that is against the Islamic Emirate.
“We have finalized the law of the media and we will send it to the leadership and after approval of the Islamic Emirate leader, it will become effective,” he said.
“Without the Ministry of Information and Culture, no one has the right to interfere in the work of the media and if there is any problem, we have a commission of media law violation that will address the problem,” he said.
This comes as earlier as Reporters Sans Borders reported that “nine journalists have been arbitrarily arrested” by Islamic Emirate security forces in the past ten days in Afghanistan in a “crackdown without precedent this year.”
“The Ministry has always said that no one has the right to interfere in media work. So, they should stick to it,” said Mohsin Karimi, a journalist.
“I call on other organizations to not interfere in the work of the media and journalists. The detention of journalists has recently increased,” said Abdul Karim Azim, a journalist.
Earlier, the Islamic Emirate’s spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said that the detentions of the journalists was not due to their career.
“The detention of the journalists has not had any link with their career in journalism. The allegations about them are something outside of their career. After they give some explanation, their issue will be solved and we will try to release them,” he said then.
https://tolonews.com/index.php/afghanistan-184727
