RASC News Agency: Amnesty International has issued an urgent call for the immediate and unconditional release of Mehdi Ansari, a journalist with the Afghanistani News Agency, who has been arbitrarily detained by the Taliban. In a statement released on Tuesday, February 4, Amnesty International strongly condemned Ansari’s imprisonment, asserting that he was targeted solely for the peaceful exercise of his fundamental human rights. The organization further highlighted that Ansari has been denied access to legal counsel, deprived of his basic rights, and refused essential medical care, raising serious concerns about his well-being in Taliban custody.
Taliban forces apprehended Ansari on October 6, 2024, in western Kabul. Following his arrest, he was subjected to physical abuse, and a Taliban court subsequently handed down a prison sentence against him. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has categorically denounced the ruling, while international press freedom organizations have decried his conviction as unjust and politically motivated. A Taliban primary court in Kabul’s Zone 3 sentenced Mehdi Ansari to one and a half years in prison on fabricated charges of “propaganda against the regime.” Advocacy groups defending press freedom have vehemently condemned the ruling, describing it as a clear violation of fundamental rights and an attempt to silence independent journalism.
Since seizing power, the Taliban have launched a systematic crackdown on journalists and media professionals, frequently resorting to arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances. The regime has also implemented sweeping restrictions on press freedom, forcibly shutting down multiple news outlets. Over the past year, the Taliban have arrested and imprisoned dozens of journalists, with reports surfacing of torture and extrajudicial killings. The group continues to suppress independent journalism, imposing draconian restrictions aimed at eliminating press autonomy in Afghanistan.
