A Taliban court in Ghazni has sentenced Sulaiman Rahil, the editor-in-chief of Radio Khushhal in the province, to three months in prison, the Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) said, condemning the act as part of a broader crackdown on independent media.
The AFJC said that Rahil was convicted by the Taliban’s primary court in a closed-door hearing on May 22 on charges of “propaganda against the Taliban.”
The AFJC called the ruling “unjust,” warning that it reflects an intensifying effort by the Taliban to silence dissent and suppress public discourse.
A source familiar with the case told the organization that the sentence was issued based on a complaint from the Taliban’s provincial intelligence directorate. Rahil had been arrested on May 5 over Facebook posts in which he highlighted widespread poverty and social challenges in Ghazni. Taliban officials reportedly viewed the posts as against them.
This is not the first case involving staff from Radio Khushhal. In October of last year, the station’s former editor-in-chief, Hikmat Arian, was sentenced to one month in prison for allegedly publishing content related to Taliban attacks before the group returned to power in 2021.
The AFJC said Rahil’s conviction underscores a worsening climate for journalists in Afghanistan, where Taliban authorities have imposed severe restrictions on media operations.
According to the center’s media freedom tracker, at least 13 other journalists and media workers are currently detained or serving prison terms across the country.
