IFJ, Afghan Affiliate Decry Continuous Attacks Against Journalists After Taliban Takeover

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th September, 2021) The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its Afghan affiliate, Afghan Independent Journalists Association (AIJA), on Thursday condemned the continued violence towards journalists in the Central Asian country, stressing that the recent arrests of media staff contravened the media freedom promised by the Taliban (a terrorist group banned in Russia).

"The continuing arrests, threats, and violence towards journalists and media workers in the field fundamentally contravenes the Taliban's renewed promises of a free, independent, and private media. The IFJ strongly condemns these attacks to press freedom and calls for all journalists to be able to work independently without fear of retribution," IFJ said in a release.

According to the journalist community, 14 reporters were arrested for covering the anti-Pakistan and women protests staged in Kabul on September 7 and 8. Two of the arrested journalists from "Etilaatroz daily" were reportedly beaten using sticks and cable wire.

In addition, their three colleagues who went to the police station to lobby for their release were also arrested for hours.

In August, the Taliban announced that journalists can return to their workplaces and were free to analyze the situation in the country. However, the UN and other international bodies have already raised the alarm over� several arrests by the movement's and the killings of journalists in Afghan regions. In addition, the International Federation of Journalists has received over 2,000 requests from Afghan journalists asking to facilitate their evacuation from Afghanistan.