Afghanistan

Taliban members raid private TV network’s compound in Kabul

A number of armed members of the Taliban raided Tamadun TV network’s compound in the west of Kabul and “verbally abused” its employees, said sources from the media organization.

One employee, who asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the matter, said that a group of Taliban members entered the compound at around 4:30 pm on Tuesday, and searched all departments.

The source said they took all the phones of employees but returned them after almost 30 minutes.

According to sources, the employees were “imprisoned” in an underground room for 30 minutes.

Another source from the TV network said that the Taliban “verbally abused” the head of the TV network and seized his armoured vehicle.

The reason for the raid by the Taliban is not yet known.

Tamadun TV was founded in 2006 by Ayatullah Asif Mohseni, a key Shia leader in the country who died in 2019. The network is now run by Jawad Mohseni. It airs programs in Farsi and Pashto.

Taliban did not comment about the incident.

Taliban is accused of arresting and abusing dozens of journalists over the past 18 months. The group has imposed many restrictions on media outlets, especially on women employees.