MONITORING (SW) – The Committee to Protect Journalists has called for an investigation into the arrest and beating of Roman Karimi, a well-known journalist associated with Salam Watandar.
The committee said in a report that the Islamic Emirate officials should investigate the arrest of the journalist and the driver associated with Salam Waltandar.
The report noted that the increase in arbitrary detentions of journalists and media workers indicates a worrying deterioration in the freedom of the press and the ability of the Afghan people to access accurate and timely information. The committee also called for the unconditional release of Jamaluddin Deldar and Mirza Hassani, local radio officials.
Meanwhile, the Office of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has stated that harassment and violence against journalists continue in Afghanistan. UNAMA has called on the Islamic Emirate to end its harsh measures and laws, including arbitrary detentions and threats against journalists.
Reporters Without Borders also condemned the repeated pressure on journalists, noting: “Five days after his disappearance, a reporter for the Subh-e-Kabul newspaper was released while Roman Karimi, a Salam Watandar reporter, was arrested for covering women’s protests”, it said while condemning these repeated pressure tactics.
Roman Karimi, a Salam Watandar reporter and Samiullah, the office driver driver who had gone to the Haji Yaqub Square in Kabul to cover a women’s protest, were detained by the Islamic Emirate’s intelligence forces for about seven hours.
Karimi said he and Samiullah were detained for about seven hours at the 10th Intelligence Directorate in Kabul province. He added that although he had shown his journalist ID card to the intelligence services of the Islamic Emirate, his profession had not been heeded and he had been arrested and beaten.
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