RASC News Agency: In a report marking the “International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists” on November 2, the Afghanistan Journalists Center disclosed that, over the past three years of Taliban governance, a minimum of 447 cases of journalist rights violations and acts of violence against media professionals have been recorded. The organization emphasized that Afghanistani journalists are enduring some of the most challenging conditions in their history, with severe restrictions imposed on their work by the Taliban regime.
The report documents that within the last three years, three journalists have been killed, while media professionals and organizations face continuous threats and incidents of violence. The Afghanistan Journalists Center further revealed that, during these three years of Taliban rule, 220 cases of journalist arrests have been documented. Additionally, the organization reported that, over the past two decades, more than 120 journalists and media personnel in Afghanistan have lost their lives as a result of conflict-related incidents or organized crime. A persistent culture of impunity has hindered justice for most of these victims.
Since 2001, at least 128 journalists and media workers, including 20 women, have been killed in Afghanistan, according to the report. Following the Taliban’s return to power, the group has imposed severe censorship on media outlets, detaining and imprisoning several journalists. Many reporters have voiced concerns about ongoing and serious threats from the Taliban. Both domestic and international organizations supporting journalists’ rights have reported that, during the first two years of renewed Taliban rule (through 2023), at least 110 violent incidents against journalists were documented. These include the deaths of three journalists in Balkh and one in Kabul.
The Taliban, in addition to enforcing extensive restrictions, have engaged in detentions and acts of torture against media professionals on numerous occasions.
