The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Monday called on the Taliban to release all reporters detained in Afghanistan, warning that media freedom has sharply deteriorated since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
In a statement ahead of International Human Rights Day on December 10, CPJ said Taliban authorities are currently holding at least two Afghan journalists — Mahdi Ansary and Hamid Farhadi — both affiliated with independent outlets now operating from exile.
CPJ said journalists in Afghanistan have faced arbitrary arrest, prolonged detention without charge, physical abuse, threats, the closure of dozens of media organisations and restrictions that have disproportionately harmed women journalists.
“These actions constitute clear violations of the fundamental right to freedom of expression and contradict public statements made by Taliban representatives,” CPJ said, recalling Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid’s 2021 pledge that private media could “continue to be free and independent.”
The watchdog urged the Taliban to mark Human Rights Day by releasing imprisoned reporters “so they can return to their families and continue their work without fear of reprisal.”
The statement said that more than 1,500 journalists from over 100 countries endorsed CPJ’s call as part of a solidarity campaign launched at this year’s Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Malaysia.
“The continued imprisonment and harassment of journalists in Afghanistan undermines any claim of moderation or respect for human rights,” CPJ said, calling on the Taliban to reverse course and take “concrete steps” toward protecting press freedom.
