At least 140 violations of press freedom were recorded across Afghanistan in the first six months of 2025, marking a 56 percent increase compared with the same period last year, according to a new report from the Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC).
The findings, released Friday, detail what the group described as an escalating crackdown on independent media by Taliban authorities, marked by growing censorship, intimidation, and legal constraints.
Of the incidents documented between January and June, 120 involved threats against journalists or direct interference with media operations. The report cites the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice as a key driver of the clampdown, particularly through the enforcement of a ban on broadcasting images of living beings — a policy based on the Taliban’s interpretation of Islamic law.
Initially applied in five provinces, the ban has since been extended to 14 more, including Nuristan, Badakhshan, Baghlan and Faryab, severely curbing visual reporting, especially on television.
At least 26 media outlets, among them 23 local TV stations, were forced to suspend operations in the first half of the year. Only three have since resumed limited activity, while others have either gone off air entirely or converted to radio-only formats.
The report also documents the temporary or prolonged detention of at least 20 journalists, most of whom were accused of cooperating with international media or publishing content critical of the Taliban. Six journalists have reportedly been sentenced to prison terms ranging from six months to a year and are currently held in Pul-e-Charkhi and Bagram prisons. Three others remain in detention from earlier arrests in 2024.
Women in media have faced increasing restrictions, the report found. Several female-led outlets were blocked from renewing licenses unless they appointed male directors. In Kandahar Province, Taliban officials announced in March a complete ban on the broadcast of women’s voices, further limiting women’s participation in journalism.
In Kabul and other urban areas, where media previously had slightly more freedom to operate, the Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture banned the production and airing of political and economic debates, tightening control over public discourse.
The AFJC warned that such measures risk dismantling the country’s fragile independent press entirely. It urged the Taliban to adhere to Afghanistan’s media laws and called on the international community to pressure the group to respect fundamental press freedoms.
“These restrictions have created a climate of fear and self-censorship that threatens to erase independent journalism from Afghanistan,” the report said.
