RASC: With the prolongation of Mortaza Bebhodi, a French-Afghanistani journalist, in the custody of the Taliban group, Reporters without Borders has set up a day counter in Paris to count the days of his imprisonment.
Behbodi was arrested by the Taliban group in Afghanistan six months ago and is now in the prison of this group. He was arrested on January 7, 48 hours after entering Kabul.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) during the campaign for the freedom of Behbodi, on Thursday, July 6, by installing a giant counter on the facade of the municipal building in the center of Paris, calculates the number of days, hours and minutes of imprisonment.
Ariel Ville, the mayor of the center of Paris, Jean-Luc Romero-Michel, the deputy mayor of Paris, Alexandra Mastoja, Behbodi’s wife, and Christophe Delores, the secretary general of Reporters Without Borders, were present when the counter was installed and called for the intensification of the campaign for Behbodi’s release.
The Secretary General of Reporters Without Borders said: “Today we are witnessing a sad memorial, a reminder that marks the end of six months of the arbitrary detention of journalist Mortaza Behbodhi.”
He said that the dialogue channels with the Taliban group are open for the freedom of recovery.
The Secretary General of Reporters Without Borders added: “This absurd situation has dragged on for a long time and now is the time for Mortaza’s release.”
Behbodhi started his career as a photojournalist at the age of 16 in Afghanistan, where he was born.
He became a refugee in France due to threats, and at the beginning of this year, the Taliban arrested him just 48 hours after he arrived in Kabul.
Reporters Without Borders says that the Taliban group has been imprisoning Behbodi since his arrest until now on the charge of “espionage” without any evidence.
In the past months, extensive requests were made by various media and human rights organizations for the release of Mortaza Behboodi, but the Taliban group has not paid attention to these requests.
