Journalists Center expresses concern over media rights violations in Afghanistan

The Afghanistan Journalists Center stated that in 2023 it had documented 168 instances of journalists’ rights being violated in Afghanistan, and it raised alarm about these crimes, TOLOnews reported.According to the study, there were 61 reported incidents of journalist arrests, 78 cases of threats, and one death and 19 injuries among journalists.The Afghanistan Journalists Centre said that “in 2023, the recorded cases of violation of the rights of journalists and the media show a significant decrease compared to the 260 events recorded in 2022, but there is no change in terms of quality and structure,” TOLOnews reported.

This occurs concurrently with an appeal from media professionals and journalists for the interim administration to move decisively to resolve the current issues that the media personnel continue to face in the country under the Taliban regime.”All of the activities belonging to the media and journalists should be pursued through the commission of media violation and this commission should be incentivized and any media and journalist who commit a violation, should be investigated through this commission,” said Rasul Shahzad, a journalist.

“The government should increase access to information. The economy of the media organizations should be empowered and supported,” another journalist, Mustafa Sharyar said, according to TOLOnews.However, refuting the claims, the Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said that no media has come under pressure and that it is “freely active”.
“Some of the cases that happened in 2023 were because of violations. Sometimes, the journalists have been arrested on criminal activities or legal cases for a temporary time. The detention has not been permanent,” TOLOnews quoted him as saying.

It has become extremely tedious for journalists and media outlets in Afghanistan to report under the Taliban due to strict regulations as journalists are restricted to cover security issues, such as explosions and suicide attacks.The Taliban when it came to power in August 2021, promised that media would be free and independent to operate across the country.
New rules were, however, imposed a month later that strictly monitor and censor journalists and the media. The short-lived media freedom was gone after the initial weeks of the Taliban rule.

Media freedom in Afghanistan has gone from bad to worse and journalists are suffering from low morale under the ruling regime. Many reporters have been arrested, persecuted and threatened with death for reporting sensitive issues that are not to the likes of Taliban authorities across the country, reported Khaama Press.Female Afghan journalists suffer from double pressure for being a journalist and a woman.The restrictions imposed by the Taliban on women including barring them from attending university, working with government or non-governmental aid organizations, and appearing in public places, have also affected female journalists.