RSF: Taliban Have Turned Afghanistan into an Information Prison

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Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says the Taliban have systematically turned Afghanistan into an “information prison” over the past five years, where each new directive further restricts the space for journalists and independent media to operate.

In a report published on Monday (10 August) to mark five years since the Taliban’s return to power, the organisation said the group has issued more than 20 nationwide directives and numerous local orders restricting media freedom since August 2021. Bans on criticism of the Taliban, the widespread exclusion of women journalists, the silencing of political debate and the prohibition on publishing images of living beings are among the restrictions cited by RSF.

Célia Mercier, head of the South Asia desk at Reporters Without Borders, said that over five years the Taliban have “turned Afghanistan into an information prison”, and that the ban on criticism has now also been incorporated into the group’s laws. According to her, women journalists have been almost entirely excluded from the media landscape, independent debate has been silenced and critical voices are being pursued.

Reporters Without Borders says the adoption of the “Law on the Principles of Criminal Proceedings” in January 2026 has provided the Taliban with a new legal tool to suppress critical voices. The law does not directly mention the media, but it also provides no immunity or protection for journalists.

According to the report, Article 23 of the law provides for 20 lashes and six months in prison for insulting Taliban officials, while Article 19 provides for 39 lashes and one year in prison for insulting the Taliban leader. Article 24 also requires individuals to report contact with opponents of the Taliban government to the authorities.

Reporters Without Borders warned that the use of vague concepts such as “rebellion”, “subversion” and “innovation”, combined with severe punishments, creates the conditions for the law to be used against journalists and critical voices.

According to Reporters Without Borders, restrictions on the media began in the first weeks after the Taliban returned to power.

In September 2021, the group introduced “11 journalism principles” that prohibited media outlets from publishing material contrary to the Taliban’s interpretation of Islam and required them to coordinate detailed reports with the government’s media centre. The Taliban later forced media outlets to refer to the group’s government only as the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” and barred them from inviting analysts critical of the Taliban to television programmes.

In November 2021, the Taliban imposed dress restrictions on female television presenters and required them to cover their faces, except for their eyes, while appearing on television. In March 2022, the rebroadcasting of Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty programmes in Afghanistan was also banned.

Reporters Without Borders says restrictions on the media intensified in the following years. In 2024, the Taliban abolished the 2015 Mass Media Law and, under the Law on the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, banned the publication of images of living beings, a restriction now enforced in more than 20 provinces.

In September 2024, the Taliban also banned live broadcasts of political programmes, required media outlets to invite guests only from a list approved by the group, and prohibited criticism of Taliban laws and policies in media programmes. In March 2025, Taliban authorities in Kandahar also banned the broadcast of women’s voices on radio.

Reporters Without Borders says hundreds of Afghan journalists have been forced to leave Afghanistan as a result of these pressures. The organisation called on transit and host countries to take seriously the risk of deportation or forced return of journalists to Afghanistan and to support them by providing protection and issuing visas.

The organisation called on the Taliban to repeal all regulations and directives that restrict media freedom.

This comes as, nearly five years after the Taliban’s return to power, restrictions on journalists, the exclusion of women from the media and increasing control over news content have severely restricted not only freedom of expression, but also the right of Afghan citizens to access independent information.