A local journalist, Zabihullah Noori, was “tortured” by the Taliban and kept in custody for three days in the northeastern province of Takhar, two sources from the area confirmed.
Noori was working as a journalist for Takharistan Radio in the city of Taluqan, the center of Takhar.
In a video a copy of which was obtained by Amu, Noori says he was arrested by the Taliban “on charges of being a journalist” on Friday, December 9.
“They tortured me a lot. You can see the signs on my legs… I am not in a good physical and mental status,” he said in the video which his colleagues confirmed.
He asks human rights organizations and journalists’ rights institutions to ensure justice for him.
Taliban so far has not commented on the matter.
This comes as a report by Reporters without Borders in August showed that a year after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, there has been a 39.59% reduction in the number of media outlets and a 59.86% decrease in the number of journalists working in the country.
Afghanistan had 547 media outlets before 15 August 2021, RSF says, adding that 219 ceased their activities a year later.
“Of the 11,857 journalists tallied before 15 August 2021, there are only 4,759 now. Women journalists have been impacted most – 76.19% of them have lost their jobs,” the report said.
