RASC News Agency: The Taliban’s Directorate for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Khost province announced that the three journalists detained in the province will soon appear in court. According to a statement released by the directorate on Friday, April 26, the detained journalists had disregarded warnings from the directorate and were accused of offenses such as broadcasting music and women’s voices on radio programs.
The Taliban’s decision to bring these three journalists to court comes despite Amnesty International’s earlier statement urging the Taliban to release the journalists promptly. Ismail Saadat, Wahidullah Masoom, and Ehsanullah Tasal are the three journalists the Taliban arrested four days ago in Khost province. In addition to these journalists, Habib Rahman Tasir, a journalist with Radio Azadi in Ghazni province, has been in Taliban custody for three weeks, and his whereabouts remain unknown.
During nearly three years of rule in Afghanistan, the Taliban have detained, imprisoned, and tortured numerous journalists under various pretexts. Under Taliban rule, freedom of expression and fundamental liberties in Afghanistan have been widely violated, and the group remains unaccountable for its repressive actions.
