RASC News Agency: The Center for Afghanistan Journalists recently disclosed the detention of two journalists, Ahmad Jawad Rasooli and Abdul Haq Hamidi, from “Gardesh-e-Etilaat” by the Taliban group’s intelligence in Kabul. Media outlets received information about their arrest on Saturday, January 20, revealing that the Taliban group’s intelligence apprehended the two journalists in Kabul the previous Thursday.
Ahmad Jawad Rasooli, the owner, and Abdul Haq Hamidi, the manager of the news agency “Gardesh-e-Etilaat,” both wield significant influence in its management. The Afghanistan Journalists Center received confirmation from the relatives of Ahmad Jawad Rasooli and Abdul Haq Hamidi regarding their arrest by the Taliban group’s intelligence.
According to the statement released by the Afghanistan Journalists Center, Hamidi’s family stated that on the Wednesday of the previous week, Abdul Haq received a call from an unknown number instructing him to visit the intelligence agency on Thursday at 9 o’clock, accompanied by Jawad Rasooli. Upon their arrival at the intelligence agency, they were promptly arrested and subjected to interrogation.
Later that same day, around four o’clock in the afternoon, the Taliban intelligence officers brought Abdul Haq Hamidi back home. In a rushed manner, he seized his personal mobile phone and informed his wife that they were arrested by the Taliban intelligence due to their journalistic work and were under investigation.
Expressing concern over the arrest of Ahmad Jawad Rasooli and Abdul Haq Hamidi, the Afghanistan Journalists Center urged the Taliban group’s intelligence department to release them promptly and unconditionally. It is noteworthy that reports indicate the Taliban group has consistently suppressed journalists and media during their two-year rule, resulting in the closure of numerous media outlets and journalists abandoning their professions.
