Images of two Afghan journalists beaten by the Taliban have raised fresh concerns about the future of media in Afghanistan. The two journalists are seen with raw bruises and marks from having been beaten and whipped, after being detained by Taliban personnel for covering a protest in Kabul.
The journalists, who worked for newspaper Etilaat Roz, are Neamat Naqdi and Taqi Daryabi. They were covering a protest by women calling for their rights to education and work.
Arrested by the Taliban alongside others, the two journalists were taken to a police station, where they found themselves accused of being organizers of the protest. They describe being beaten badly, along with insults and threats. According to Naqdi, “One of the Taliban put his foot on my head, crushed my face against the concrete. They kicked me in the head […] I thought they were going to kill me.”
They were beaten with batons, electrical cables and whips. Naqdi recalls being told “You are lucky you weren’t beheaded.” Hours later, they were released without any explanation as to what had prompted their detention.
Taliban authorities have claimed that they have ‘changed’ from their earlier stint in power in the 1990s, and that they will uphold media freedoms in line with what they understand to be Islamic laws. However, Zaki Daryabi, publisher of Etilaat Roz, is not convinced:
“This official speech is totally different from the reality that can be observed on the ground.”
