Taliban take 2 female state TV anchors off-air in Afghanistan, beat at least 2 journalists
August 19, 2021, Washington, D.C. — The Taliban must immediately cease harassing and attacking journalists for their work, allow women journalists to broadcast the news, and permit the media to operate freely and independently, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Since August 15, members of the Taliban have barred at least two female journalists…
‘Complex, fast changing, and extraordinarily dangerous’: PBS’ Jane Ferguson on the ground in Kabul
Jane Ferguson, a correspondent for PBS NewsHour and contributor to The New Yorker magazine, landed in Kabul on August 15, just as the government of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was collapsing and the Taliban began to enter the city. Ferguson told CPJ that covering the swift and unexpected changing of the guard in Kabul is…
Afghan female journalist: I may not be alive by the time US can evacuate me
Steven Butler describes it as “mass panic.” As the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator has been fielding “hundreds and hundreds” of daily pleas from journalists asking for help to flee the country. Butler, along with CPJ Asia research associate Sonali Dhawan and the organization’s Emergencies team, are now in the process…
Taliban militants raid homes of at least 4 media workers in Afghanistan
Washington, D.C., August 18, 2021 — The Taliban must immediately cease attacking journalists and searching their homes, and allow members of the press to operate freely and without fear of violence or reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Since the Taliban took power in the country earlier this week, militants have searched the…
US must protect Afghan journalists as Taliban take power
Hundreds seek assistance, relocation amid threat from militant group New York, August 16, 2021 – The United States must do more to ensure the safety of Afghan journalists as the country falls under the control of the Taliban, including facilitating safe passage out of the country and providing emergency visas, the Committee to Protect Journalists…
Suspected Taliban militants kill 1 Afghan journalist, kidnap another
Washington, D.C., August 9, 2021 – Afghan authorities must immediately and thoroughly investigate the killing of journalist Toofan Omar and ensure the safe release of journalist Nematullah Hemat, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, unidentified gunmen shot and killed Omar, a manager of the privately owned radio station Paktia Ghag Radio, according to…
Taliban fighters shoot at car carrying Afghan journalists, briefly abduct them
On August 1, 2021, Taliban fighters in the outskirts of Herat city, in western Afghanistan, fired shots at a car carrying Shakib Shams, a correspondent with the national radio service Salam Wantadar, and Storai Karimi, a reporter for the independent news agency Pajhwok Afghan News, and abducted them for approximately 25 minutes, according to Shams,…
CPJ welcomes priority inclusion of Afghan journalists in U.S. refugee program
Washington, D.C., August 2, 2021 — In response to the U.S. State Department’s announcement today of a priority designation granting U.S. Refugee Admissions Program access to “Afghans who are or were employed in Afghanistan by a U.S.-based media organization or non-governmental organization,” the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “We applaud the Biden…
Four Afghan journalists arrested after reporting from border area seized by Taliban
Washington, D.C., July 27, 2021 — Afghan authorities must immediately release journalists Bismillah Watandoost, Qudrat Soltani, Moheb Obaidi, and Sanaullah Siam, drop their investigation into their work, and allow members of the press to report freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, officials with Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security, the country’s national intelligence…
CPJ, U.S. media organizations urge U.S. to provide visas to Afghans who worked with press
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined a coalition of U.S. news and press freedom organizations in joint letters to President Joseph Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Congressional leadership asking the U.S. government to provide humanitarian assistance and emergency visas to Afghans who have worked with U.S. media outlets. In 2020, at least five journalists…