RASC News Agency: Local sources in Khas Uruzgan district report that the Taliban have arrested eight individuals for allegedly informing on the murder of a mosque cleric. According to these sources, the detained individuals were accused of providing information to the media about the murder of Rustam Rahimi, an Imam in the Shashpar area of Uruzgan.
The Taliban have a history of arbitrarily detaining individuals without proper charges, often subjecting them to torture. Many of these arrests are ethnically motivated, specifically targeting Tajiks. The Taliban frequently arrest Tajiks without evidence, subject them to torture, and imprison them for extended periods.
This group frequently abducts young Tajiks from their homes, districts, and places of residence under various pretexts. Once imprisoned in their notorious black sites, these individuals are either tortured and released or, tragically, their lifeless bodies are returned to their families. Such incidents have surged in the past three years, and hundreds of young Tajiks remain imprisoned by the Taliban. However, local residents in Khas Uruzgan complain that instead of pursuing the actual perpetrators, the Taliban arrest locals.
The murder was reportedly carried out by two Taliban soldiers. Sources confirmed to RASC that on Sunday afternoon, the Taliban arrested Ruhollah Hosseini, Taher Moradi, Master Dawood, Zia, and Farzad. The identities of the other three individuals remain unknown. On Saturday, local residents informed RASC that two unidentified individuals lured Rustam Rahimi to the mosque and killed him with multiple stab wounds.
Some media outlets have reported that “individuals in Taliban uniforms” were responsible for the murder. The motive behind this killing remains unclear, and the Taliban have not commented on the murder of this Hazara cleric. Residents of the Shashpar area claim that this is the twenty-first murder since the Taliban took power.
