KABUL (SW) – The Afghan Journalists Center has said that an Iranian news agency photographer, Mohammad Hossein Velayati, who had traveled to Afghanistan, has been arrested in Kabul.
While expressing concern about the arrest of Mohammad Hossein Velayati, the AJC has demanded the “immediate and unconditional” release of this press photographer. “TasnimNews Agency has reported that Mohammad Hossein Velayati, the photographer and editor of this news agency, was arrested at Kabul airport on Saturday while returning to Iran. It is stated in this report that Velayati went to Afghanistan on a business trip and stayed in Kabul for 10 days.”
Tasnim news agency has noted that the security forces of the Islamic Emirate have arrested this news photographer without any specific explanation and the follow-up has not yielded results in this regard so far. At the same time, Tasnim stated that this matter was discussed by the National Security Commission of the Iranian Parliament with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of this country, and Hassan Kazemi Qomi, Iran’s ambassador and special representative for Afghanistan, who was present at the meeting, said that for the release of this photographer Iran will try hard.
The AJC has emphasized that while expressing concern over the arrest of Mohammad Hossein Velayati that it wants the authorities of the Islamic Emirate to release this news photographer “immediately and unconditionally” and end the process of arresting and harassing journalists in Afghanistan.
This center has said that in the last two weeks, at least 11 journalists have been arrested in different parts of the country, and nine of them are still in prison. The ACJ added that its information shows that at least four other journalists who were arrested in recent months are also in prison, which brings the total number of journalists and media workers who are imprisoned in the country to 13.
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