RASC News Agency: Amnesty International has called on the Taliban to release Javid Kohistani and another journalist who were recently detained by the group. In a statement reacting to the arrests of Kohistani, a political analyst, and Hikmatullah Aryan, a journalist from Ghazni, the organization condemned the Taliban’s practice of enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions, demanding the immediate release of both individuals.
On Thursday, October 3, Amnesty International stated that the recent arbitrary arrests underscore the relentless repression faced by anyone who dares to express dissenting opinions under Taliban rule. The organization emphasized that the arbitrary detention of individuals represents a complete violation of Afghanistan’s obligations under international human rights law. Amnesty International reiterated that the Taliban must promptly free Javed Kohistani, Hikmatullah Aryan, and others who have been unlawfully detained, and put an end to enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, torture, and other forms of mistreatment targeting those exercising their rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and peaceful association.
Recently, the Taliban arrested Javed Kohistani, a political analyst, in northern Kabul. A week has passed, yet no information has emerged regarding his fate. In a related development, the Afghanistan Journalists Center reported that on Sunday, September 30, the Taliban’s intelligence agency also detained Hikmatullah Aryan, the director of the private radio station “Khoshal” in Ghazni.
According to the center, a source revealed that Aryan was accused of discussing Taliban suicide attacks in an audio recording and broadcasting it on the radio, which was considered “insulting and disrespectful” to the Taliban. Friends of Aryan in Ghazni informed the Afghanistan Journalists Center that this incident predates the Taliban’s return to power and that the allegations against him are baseless.
