Irfanullah Bidar disappeared with his car after being attacked in front of the Eidgah Mosque in Jalalabad capital of Nangarhar province on Wednesday, July 12.
July 18, 2023
Jalalabad, Nangarhar province- A reporter for the Safa radio station in eastern Nangarhar province who went missing last week, is believed to be held by the General Directorate of Intelligence(GDI), sources said on Tuesday.
Sources told AFJC that Irfanullah Bidar disappeared with his car after being attacked in front of the Eidgah Mosque in Jalalabad capital of Nangarhar province on Wednesday, July 12.
Irafanullah Bidar has worked as a reporter and presenter for Safa radio station since 2013.
Bidar’s brother, Azamatullah, told AFJC that he had no personal enmity with anyone, and they are worried about his condition. Local authorities in Nangarhar have not commented on this matter so far.
AFJC Said:” We were deeply disturbed by the detention of Safa radio reporter Irfanullah Bidar. It indicates a worrisome and reprehensible escalation of attacks on the independent media and blatant disregard for press freedom in Afghanistan.” “We call on the authorities to release him immediately and to assure a safe working environment for media, free of fears and intimidation.”
This development adds to the already troubling landscape for press freedom in Afghanistan. According to the AFJC statistics, at least three other journalists including an Afghan-French reporter and two local reporters have been held in GDI custody in Kabul for several months, raising serious alarm about the safety and well-being of media professionals operating in Afghanistan.