New York, August 19, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reports today that Afghan authorities have banned New York Times correspondent Matthew Rosenberg from leaving the country, according to news reports. Rosenberg is based in Kabul and Washington. His most recent story, published on Monday, alleged that some Afghan officials were threatening to seize power in the country if the impasse in recent presidential elections was not resolved. Rosenberg told CPJ via Twitter today that the attorney general’s spokesman informed him of the travel ban after first communicating the news to the local news channel Tolo.
“We call on Afghan authorities to lift all travel restrictions on Matthew Rosenberg immediately,” said CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney. “Denying journalists freedom of movement is nothing more than a form of intimidation at a time when Afghanistan’s democracy is most in need of independent political reporting.”