Three journalists have been held in Taliban custody since their arrest on Monday in Khost province, eastern Afghanistan.
According to the Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC), Ismail Sadaat of Naaz Radio, Wahidullah Masoum of Iqra Radio, and Ehsanullah Tasal of Voice of People were detained on charges of “airing music” and “contacting women via their programs.”
Taliban detained the journalists at approximately 1:30 p.m. on Monday, taking them to the provincial security department.
The AFJC statement detailed that under the guise of a meeting, the Ministry of Vice and Virtue criticized the journalists’ programming content and informed them that they would be taken to court.
This arrest follows a prior warning from the Khost security department to media organizations against broadcasting women’s contact information in their programs.
Over the past more than two and a half years, the Taliban has detained and reportedly tortured dozens of journalists, as well as civil and women’s rights activists and education advocates.
