Family members of detained singer Musa Shaheen have appealed to human rights organizations for help, stating he is seriously ill and that the Taliban has denied him access to a doctor.
Shaheen, a popular folk singer during the republic government’s tenure, has been in Taliban custody for more than two months.
Shaheen’s brother, Abdul Wahab Asim, told Amu TV that their mother has been allowed to visit Shaheen on two occasions in the past two months and that she got to speak to him through a glass partition.
Asim said his brother is seriously ill and that the Taliban has not taken him to hospital, allowed him to see a doctor nor provided him with medication.
“During this period [in the prison] as a result of mental and physical torture, he (Shaheen) is suffering kidney failure, his face is swollen and his condition is serious. The Taliban have not provided him with treatment and they also do not allow us to provide medicine,” Asim said.
Asim called on the Taliban to release Shaheen, emphasizing that he has not committed any crime. He said his brother also had no affiliation with any party or movement.
Shukrullah Mashkoor, a member of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, also urged the Taliban to “immediately” release all detained journalists, social activists, and artists.
Mashkoor said no one has the right to arrest people for social activities nor put pressure on civil activists and human rights defenders.
“No one should be arrested on charges of civil and cultural activities and defending people’s rights. The Independent Human Rights Commission of Afghanistan urges the Taliban to release all those who are in their custody without having been charged, and to respect human values and the principles of fair trials,” he said.
Ahmad Naser Sarmast, the founder and former head of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music, has also called on human rights organizations to help secure the release of Shaheen.
“I call on the international community, music, and human rights advocacy groups to raise their voice for an immediate release of Afghan singer Mussa Shaheen who was arrested and brutally tortured by the Taliban. He is sick and has no access to medical assistance,” Sarmast said in a tweet on Friday.
Shaheen has been arrested by the Taliban on two occasions in the past 19 months. The first time he was arrested was in 2022 while leaving the country through the Islam Qala border town in the west of Afghanistan while on his way to Iran. He was released a month later.
Again, he was arrested – this time at his home on February 4.
