From right, Journalists Ismail Sadat, Vahidullah Masoom and Ehsanullah Tasal were released on April 28, 2024 after 6 days in Taliban’s police detention.
April 28, 2024
Khost, Khost province – Three local journalists, who were arrested in southeastern Khost province on charges related to the publication of music and communication with female listeners, have been released after six days in detention. The Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) welcomes the journalists' release and stresses that their arrest violated Afghanistan's Media Law, emphasizing that they should never have been detained in the first place.
A journalist in Khost province, familiar with the issue but speaking to AFJC anonymously due to fear of retaliation by local Taliban officials, stated that Ismail Sadat, reporter of Naz Radio, Vahidullah Masoom, reporter of Iqra Radio, and Ehsanullah Tasal, reporter of Wolas Ghag (Voice of the People) Radio, were released from the Taliban police headquarters on Sunday, April 28, around 2 pm.
These journalists were summoned by the Department of Virtue and Vice of Khost on April 21 and then transferred to the Taliban police headquarters after three hours of interrogation. Another source in Khost province mentioned that the Department of Virtue and Vice of the province had initially invited the heads of these three radio stations under the pretext of participating in a joint meeting. However, three reporters went to the meeting on their behalf and were subsequently arrested.
Since the Taliban's return to power in August 2021, the publication of music in the media has been banned nationwide. In a new development, the Taliban police chief in Khost Province issued a ban on phone calls from girls to the media in February 2024.
Today, a joint meeting was held at the Taliban governor's office in Khost with representatives from the Departments of virtue and vice, information and culture, intelligence, police, and local journalists. During the meeting, Mulla Sharafuddin Noqra kar, the head of Khost's virtue and vice department, expressed his dissatisfaction with the media outlets for publishing music and communicating with female listeners. He stated that the journalists would be released later today without any conditions but warned that they would be prosecuted if they did not adhere to the media guidelines introduced by local authorities.
AFJC welcomes the release of journalists Ismail Sadat, Vahidullah Masoom, and Ehsanullah Tasal, highlighting that the initial arrest of these journalists was an unlawful act, infringing upon their freedom. AFJC urgently calls upon the Taliban department of virtue and vice and the Taliban police in the province to cease mass arrests of journalists, which perpetuate fear and self-censorship within the journalism community and hinder the operation of media outlets in accordance with the media law as acknowledged by the Taliban government.
Under the Afghanistan Media Law enacted by the previous government, which the Taliban government has recognized as still valid, individuals are guaranteed the right to freedom of expression, including the dissemination of information without government interference. However, there have been reported instances of Taliban officials intimidating and meddling in media operations, thereby weakening press freedom.
There are currently 15 radio stations and three private television channels operating in Khost province, in addition to the national (state) radio and television. Due to the ban on schools for girls above the sixth grade, educational programs through media outlets have increased in the country, including in Khost province. Local media officials in Khost argue that answering listeners' questions and using background music in some programs is necessary to better promote educational content.