Janagha Saleh(right) and Faqir Mohammad Faqiri reporters for the Killid radio station detained in Jalalabad capital of Nangarhar province on August 10, 2023
August 10, 2023
Jalalabad, Nangarhar province- Two journalists for the Killid radio station have been detained in the eastern Nangarhar province amidst an ongoing crackdown on media in Afghanistan. The Afghanistan Journalists Center condemns the journalists’ detention and calls for their immediate and unconditional release.
A journalist from Nangarhar province who asked to remain anonymous due to security concerns, said:” On Thursday around 3 pm, members of Taliban General Directorate of Security(GDI) entered the office of Killid radio station in the provincial capital Jalalabad and detained two reporters for the station Faqir Mohammad Faqirzai and Janagha Saleh.”
Local authorities have not commented on the issues and the circumstances leading to their arrest remain undisclosed at this time.
AFJC said: “We strongly condemn the detention of Faqir Mohammad Faqiri and Janagha Saleh, this is a serious violation of journalists' rights and we call for their immediate and unconditional release.”
The detentions mark the latest moves in a broad crackdown on media in Afghanistan. Earlier this week, on Sunday, August 6, a local journalist Sayed Wahdatullah Abdali from the state-run Bakhtar News Agency was detained in Southern Ghazni province and is still in custody. At least four other journalists including Afghan-French reporter Murteza Behboudi, two freelance reporters from Kabul, and Aminullah Alemi, head of Mumtaz Radio station in Northern Fariab province remain behind bars.