Afghan media groups on August 11 criticized the Taliban’s detaining at least five journalists in different parts of the country this month.
Haseeb Hassas, a correspondent for Salam Watandar radio in the northern province of Kunduz, was arrested on August 10.
On the same day, Taliban security forces arrested Faqir Mohammad Faqirzai and Jan Agha Saleh in Jalalabad, the capital of the eastern Nangarhar Province. Both worked for Kalid Radio, an independent station.
“Such unprincipled arrests can be considered as pressure on journalists,” said NAI, an Afghan media advocacy group, in a statement on August 11.
“If such arrests continue, they will create an atmosphere of fear for journalists and make freedom of expression and access to information in Afghanistan a serious challenge.”
In the southeastern province of Paktia, Habib Sarab, a local correspondent for Ariana News, a private TV station, was also arrested on August 10. Wahdatullah Abdali, a local reporter in the neighboring province of Ghazni, was arrested last week.
“Arresting journalists will weaken freedom of expression and demoralize Afghan journalists,” Afghanistan's Independent Journalists Association, another media group, said in a statement on August 11.
In an August 11 statement, the Association joined NAI in calling on the Taliban government to bring the cases against journalists before the Media Regulatory Commission, which the Taliban Ministry of Information and Culture has said is the only forum for dealing with complaints about journalists and media organizations.
The latest moves against Afghan journalists comes after the closure of three media organizations in Nangarhar Province last month.
On July 31, The Taliban forces raided Hamisha Bahar Radio and Television, Radio Nan, and Radio Jawanan in Nangarhar. Taliban fighters stormed the studios of Hamisha Bahar Radio and Television after the media outlet provided journalism training for young Afghans, including girls, according to an employee who spoke to RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi on condition of anonymity.
The once flourishing Afghan media has faced a rapid decline since the Taliban returned to power two years ago. Hundreds of media outlets have closed after losing funding and because of draconian Taliban restrictions.
The hard-line Islamist group has driven hundreds of Afghan journalists into exile.