All Seven Detained Employees of Arezo TV Released on Bail; Station Remains Closed

All Seven Detained Employees of Arezo TV Released on Bail; Station Remains Closed

From the top right: Arezo TV employees Amanullah Azimi, Khalid Barakzai, Amir Hossein Atrian, Zahir Faizi, Sami Ahmad Bek, Haroon Irfan, and Baktash Raofi were released from Pul-e-Charkhi prison in Kabul on December 19, 2024.

December 21, 2024

Kabul – Seven employees of the private Arezo TV, who were arrested by the Taliban General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) two weeks ago, have been released on bail. However, the television station's office in Kabul remains closed, and a trial for the employees is scheduled to take place next week.

The Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) has welcomed the release of the Arezo TV employees and is urging authorities to close the case and allow the station to resume operations without conditions.

An employee of Arezo TV, who requested to remain anonymous for safety reasons, said that the Kabul City Court, Zone 3, ordered the release of all seven detained employees from Pul-e-Charkhi Prison on December 18. They were granted release after providing a written guarantee to remain in Kabul and attend court sessions. Their trial is scheduled to take place in one week, he added

On December 4, GDI agents, accompanied by representatives of the Ministry of Vice and Virtue, raided the Arezo TV office in the Karte 3 area of Kabul. During the raid, they mistreated the media outlet's employees, confiscated electronic storage devices and computers, arrested seven staff members, and sealed the office.

Among those arrested were Amanullah Azimi, director of the Kabul office; Khalid Barakzai, presenter; Amir Hossein Atrian, producer and administrative manager; Zahir Faizi, director of production; and television production department employees Sami Ahmad Bek, Haroon Irfan, and Baktash Raofi. They were initially transferred to one of the intelligence detention centers before being moved to Pul-e-Charkhi, Kabul’s central prison.

In a statement, the Taliban’s Ministry of Vice and Virtue claimed that Arezo TV was shut down due to the broadcasting of immoral and vulgar content, allegedly supported by exiled media, and stated that the office would remain sealed until further notice.

Founded in October 2006 in Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province, Arezo TV opened its Kabul office in January 2010. The Kabul facility includes a studio for news production and content creation, producing a mix of wildlife documentaries and Islamic series dubbed from Turkish into Persian/Dari. Approximately 60% of Arezo TV's programming is produced in Kabul, employing around 70 staff members, including eight journalists. The remaining 40% of content is created at the Mazar-e-Sharif office.

AFJC, while welcoming the release of the detained Arezo TV employees, emphasizes that the GDI's raid and the arrest of employees constituted a clear violation of their fundamental rights and should not have occurred. The center views the ongoing closure of Arezo TV and the conditional release of its employees as indicative of a systematic repression and censorship process. AFJC calls on the ruling authorities to respect the fundamental rights of free media, close this case, and allow Arezo TV to reopen without delay or conditions.


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