Journalist arrested in Kabul; Taliban launch wave of persecution and repression against media by accessing his phone.
Exclusive Report | Kabul Times News
Kabul under the shadow of media terror; Taliban activate network of persecution by examining a journalist’s phone.
Local sources report that Taliban intelligence continues to abuse prisoners’ personal phones; a method through which they try to gather new information and identify and arrest other people by sending messages to friends, colleagues and relatives of the detainees.
According to these reports, after accessing the prisoners’ mobile phones, Taliban intelligence agents use their user accounts to send messages to those around them and try to determine the location and status of the individuals by asking questions such as “Where are you?”, “What are you doing?” or “I heard you went to Europe.” In cases where the answers do not meet the Taliban’s criteria, these individuals are subject to tracking and detention.
After the fall of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan government on August 15, 2025, the Taliban took control of the country. In the past four years, the Taliban’s intelligence agency in particular has used various methods to arrest thousands of citizens. Among them, the Afghan media community is one of the most vulnerable groups, with reports indicating the arrest, torture, and even killing of hundreds of journalists and media activists.
In one of the most significant incidents, on July 24, 2025, the headquarters of several media organizations in Kabul were targeted by a joint attack by Taliban intelligence forces and Amr-e-Maruf agents. In this operation, journalists and media workers were beaten, interrogated, and tortured. Equipment and assets of media outlets such as Hama News Agency, City News, Tawana, Shiva, the Afghan Women Journalists Association, and the United Development and Charity Foundation were also seized and confiscated.
Reports indicate that during the operation, Taliban agents collected journalists’ mobile phones, recorded passwords, and examined personal content, including photos and files. Suspects were taken to separate rooms and tortured.
A number of media activists, including Shakib Ahmad Nazari, Mohammad Bashir Hatef, and Abuzar Sarpoli, were arrested in the incident. Shahpour Nayebzadeh, the director-general of Hama News Agency, was also beaten and his work equipment, including a laptop, camera, and media archives, was confiscated.
More than 11 months after the incident, sources say Taliban intelligence continues to use the seized phones, especially the one belonging to Abuzar Sarpuli, to make calls and send messages to other journalists and staff.
It has also been reported that in October and November 2025, Taliban forces again raided the headquarters of this media organization, but the target of these attacks is not clear.
In the most recent case, on May 4, 2026, the office of the Paygard news agency was also targeted by the Taliban. In this operation, the media outlet’s equipment and property were seized and Ahmad Javed Niazi, the agency’s franchise owner, was arrested and transferred to an unknown location.
These events have raised concerns about the state of freedom of expression, the safety of journalists, and the use of digital tools to suppress dissent in Afghanistan.
Reporting by Shahpour Naibzadeh
Journalist arrested in Kabul; Taliban launch wave of persecution and repression against media by accessing his phone.
