The Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) reports that Abdul Razzaq Seddiqi, the director of Radio Seday-e-Badghis (Voice of Badghis), has been released from Taliban custody after a month in detention.
He was freed by order of the Second Zone Urban Court in the capital on Wednesday, December 4.
Siddiqi was summoned to Kabul by the Taliban’s intelligence agency on October 31, where he was subsequently detained.
The arrest followed accusations from the Taliban’s Directorate of Information and Culture in Badghis that he had reported on local issues, including the employment of women at a private company, which had been disseminated through international media channels. Local Taliban officials claimed that this reporting violated regulations set forth by the Taliban government.
AFJC emphasized that Seddiqi’s arrest constituted a clear violation of Afghanistan’s media laws, and his freedom should never have been compromised.
It pointed out that under Afghanistan’s mass media law, as enforced by the Taliban, journalists and media outlets are legally allowed to carry out their professional duties without interference. Article 4 of the law stipulates that “no individual or entity can prohibit, censor, or restrict the free operation of media or interfere with their publications.”
Presently, at least six journalists remain imprisoned in the country, four of whom have been sentenced to two to five years in prison, according to AFJC.
The United Nations, in a recent report on the state of media in Afghanistan, revealed that at least 334 journalists and media workers have been arrested by the Taliban over the past three years.
Photo: AFJC
This story first appeared on RadioInfo.asia