The Free Speech Hub has called on the Taliban to cease their “repression of the media and pressure on journalists” following the closure of Arezo TV and the arrest of seven of its staff members, including journalists, by Taliban intelligence forces and vice and virtue ministry.
In a statement released on Thursday, the organization urged the Taliban to respect press freedom and refrain from suppressing independent media.
The Free Speech Hub also appealed to the international community to hold the Taliban accountable for repeated human rights violations and to provide meaningful support to Afghan journalists and media outlets.
The statement further called on the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and international organizations that advocate for press freedom to take immediate action to secure the release of the detained journalists and employees of Arezo TV.
Taliban raid on Arezo TV
According to the Free Speech Hub, Taliban intelligence forces and officials from the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice conducted a raid on Arezo TV’s offices, thoroughly searching the station’s archives and monitoring the personal mobile phones of staff members.
Afghanistan Journalists Center in a statement on Wednesday said that seven employees of the TV network were arrested by the Taliban during the raid.
The Taliban have not provided an explanation for the raid or the arrests, and officials have so far remained silent on the incident.
The incident has raised alarms about the continued erosion of press freedom in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Since their return to power in 2021, the Taliban have imposed stringent restrictions on media outlets, forcing many to shut down or operate under heavy censorship.
Advocacy groups like the Free Speech Hub warn that the suppression of independent journalism is part of a broader pattern of rights violations that threaten to silence dissent and isolate the Afghan population from the outside world.
International organizations and watchdogs have called for urgent measures to protect press freedom in Afghanistan, emphasizing the need to safeguard the voices of those reporting under increasingly repressive conditions.
