RASC News Agency: The Afghanistan Journalists Center has issued a strong statement condemning the arrest and imprisonment of Afghanistani journalist and filmmaker Rahim Saeedi by the Taliban. The organization has called for his immediate and unconditional release, citing his deteriorating health and unjust imprisonment. Rahim Saeedi, accused of spreading propaganda against the Taliban, was sentenced to three years in prison. In the statement released on Monday, January 27, the Afghanistan Journalists Center urged the Taliban to take Saeedi’s critical health condition into account and release him without delay. The statement also expressed concerns from Saeedi’s family, who feared that publicizing the court ruling could further jeopardize his chances of being freed.
Despite appeals for a review or pardon, efforts to secure Saeedi’s release have so far been unsuccessful. He has been transferred from Taliban intelligence detention to Pul-e-Charkhi prison, where his health has reportedly worsened due to the lack of adequate medical care. The Afghanistan Journalists Center demanded that the Taliban end their ongoing campaign of arrests, intimidation, and harassment of journalists and media professionals. The organization emphasized that media workers must be allowed to operate freely and without fear of persecution, in line with Afghanistan’s media laws.
According to the organization’s findings, at least four journalists and media workers are currently serving prison terms of two to three years after being convicted by Taliban courts. Reports from the prison indicate that Saeedi’s health condition is critical and that he is being denied essential medical services. Since the Taliban’s return to power, the situation for journalists in Afghanistan has become increasingly perilous. Draconian restrictions on freedom of speech, arbitrary detentions, threats, torture, and even killings of journalists have eroded the nation’s media landscape.
The Taliban have also shut down several media outlets and imposed severe restrictions on those that remain operational, further suppressing independent journalism across the country.
