RASC News Agency: On the eve of “World Press Freedom Day,” the Afghanistan Journalists Center warned of the negative impact of the Taliban’s restrictions on media and journalists in the country. According to a statement released on Thursday, May 2, the organization expressed grave concern over the increasing constraints on independent media and journalists, as well as the ongoing mass detentions of journalists by the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The organization’s findings indicate that from May 2023 to date, media outlets and journalists in the country have faced more significant restrictions on their freedom and fundamental legal rights compared to the preceding period, resulting in extensive violations. The report noted that since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, the group has issued at least 17 directives that contradict media laws in the country.
In the past year, the Afghanistan Journalists Center documented 136 incidents of violations against media freedom and journalists, including 73 threats and 64 instances of journalists being detained by the Taliban.
The organization added that journalists are currently being summoned, interrogated, and detained not only by the Taliban’s intelligence agency but also by the group’s Department for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.