Taliban Ministry of Information and Culture confirms arrest of two TOLOnews journalists

Report: Shahpur Nayebzada | Kabul Times News

Kabul – The Taliban Ministry of Information and Culture has confirmed the arrest of two TOLOnews journalists. Khabib Ghufran, a spokesman for the ministry, announced that the two journalists were arrested a few days ago by Taliban security agencies.

Ghufran said in a press release that the case of the two is currently under investigation, but did not provide details about the reason for their arrest.

He also emphasized that no verdict has been issued by the Taliban court regarding the two journalists so far, and called reports published in some media outlets about their condition “lies.”

Meanwhile, informed sources told Kabul Times News that after the arrest of Mansoor Niazi, the host of TOLOnews’ political programs, and Imran Danish, the network’s political programs manager, Taliban intelligence forces, with the presence of more than 40 armed men, stormed the TOLOnews and Mobi Group offices in Kabul.

According to these sources, the media office was surrounded by Taliban intelligence forces for several hours and a tight security atmosphere prevailed in the area.

The arrest of journalists and pressure on the media in Afghanistan continue while organizations defending freedom of expression have repeatedly expressed concern about increasing restrictions on journalists and independent media.