UN: Taliban Has Detained at Least 256 Journalists in the Past Three Years

In a report titled "Media Freedom in Afghanistan," released on Tuesday (November 26), UNAMA highlighted the increasing challenges faced by media outlets, journalists, and media staff under Taliban rule.

The report reveals that female journalists and media staff are facing severe and "discriminatory" restrictions.

It indicates that over the past three years, the Taliban has committed 336 acts of violence against journalists and media staff, including 256 cases of arbitrary detention (249 men and 7 women), 130 cases of torture (122 men and 8 women), and 75 cases of threats or intimidation.

Roza Otunbayeva, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative and head of UNAMA, emphasized in the report: "We call on the Taliban to ensure the safety of all journalists and media workers while performing their duties and to fully recognize the importance of women in the media sector."

Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed concern over the findings and urged the Taliban to align their actions with Afghanistan's international legal obligations. He emphasized: "Journalists and media workers perform vital functions in informing the public on events affecting their daily lives and wider communities, including on essential humanitarian and protection issues."

In response to the report, Human Rights Watch described the media situation in Afghanistan under Taliban rule as "critical," stating that the Taliban has "devastated the media landscape and created an atmosphere of fear," making it impossible for journalists to investigate or report on any topic freely.

Human Rights Watch further added that the Taliban has severely restricted local media outlets, directly intervening in newsrooms to "suppress any critical content."

The organization also noted that Afghan media outlets have been forced to obtain Taliban approval before publishing reports, which has led to various forms of censorship.

UNAMA has stressed the importance of providing technical and financial support to the media sector in Afghanistan for the country's development, highlighting that reduced international support has made the media sector more vulnerable.

On the other hand, the Taliban has rejected the report, claiming that those detained had committed "crimes."

Since their return to power, the Taliban has imposed severe restrictions on journalists and media outlets. Currently, several journalists remain imprisoned in Taliban-run jails.