KABUL — Two journalists, Mohammad Arif Hijran and Ahmad Kamran, have been sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Taliban, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The journalists were arrested on July 16 in the Khair Khana neighborhood of Kabul. The Taliban’s military court handed down their sentences the following day, July 17, the sources said.
Hijran and Kamran were initially detained for filming the Ashura ceremony in Kabul’s Police District 11, but were later accused of reporting on security conditions in Kabul and its surrounding provinces, the sources added.
Hijran is an experienced journalist who has worked for several Afghan media outlets, including Payam News Agency.
Since the Taliban regained power in August 2021, Afghan journalists have faced escalating challenges, including harassment, arrests, and violence. Many media workers have fled the country, fearing for their safety as press freedoms have been sharply curtailed under the new regime.
