Broken promises? Taliban resort to beating journalists in name of 'free media'
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Earlier reports had claimed that all international journalists were being targeted by militants of Taliban. However, local journalists have now come ahead and accused the 'new and improved' Taliban of brutally beating up reporters
Taliban is infamous for inhumane treatment, especially towards the people who dare question the terrorist groups. Following the same thought process, Taliban have started brutally attacking journalists.
Earlier reports had claimed that all international journalists were being targeted by militants of Taliban. However, local journalists have now come ahead and accused the 'new and improved' Taliban of brutally beating up reporters.
In an interview with BBC, reporters and correspondents in Afghanistan have revealed that a lot of them were detained, beaten up, tortured and flogged by militants of Taliban for reporting about the ongoing protests in Afghanistan.
ویدیوی اختصاصی از جریان بازداشت مرتضا صمدی در هرات به دستم رسیده است. طالبان نمیتوانند زندانهای شان را از جوانان ما پر کنند. ما بیشماریم و بندیخانههای شما کافی نخواهد بود. خبرنگاری و عکاسی جرم نیست. مرتضا باید آزاد باشد pic.twitter.com/iWPGuhC92w
— Musadiq Parsa (@MusadiqParsa) September 9, 2021
"One of the Taliban put his foot on my head and crushed my face against the concrete," said Nematullah Naqdi, a photojournalist for the Etilaatroz newspaper. He explained that when the militants noticed him taking pictures of protests, they approached him and tried to take his camera from him. The incident started heating up and they started attacking him.
After that, him and his colleague, Taqi Daryabi, were taken to a local district police station where they were whipped, flogged with electric cables and brutally beaten up with batons.
"Eight of them came and they started beating me," Daryabi recounted. "Using sticks, police sticks, rubber - whatever they had in their hands. The scar on my face is from shoes where they kicked me in the face."
Both of them were soon released without any explanation. It is not just these two photojournalists; at least 12 other journalists have faced similar brutality by Taliban in the past two days.
"The Taliban is quickly proving that earlier promises to allow Afghanistan’s independent media to continue operating freely and safely are worthless," said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. "We urge the Taliban to live up to those earlier promises, to stop beating and detaining reporters doing their job, and allow the media to work freely without fear of reprisal."