Censorship, intimidation, arbitrary detention, violence going as far as torture: the number of journalists has declined since the return of the Taliban to power in 2021 in Afghanistan, a country where the press had been relatively free.
A new law for the “promotion of virtue and prevention of vice”, aiming for an ultra-rigorous application of Islamic law, further worries a stricken profession, between retraining and exile.
When the Taliban returned, Afghanistan had 8,400 media employees, including 1,700 women. There are only 5,100 left, including 560 women, according to industry sources.
Dozens of media outlets were closed and Afghanistan fell in three years from 122nd to 178th out of 180 in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranking for press freedom.
“We have recorded around 450 cases of abuse against journalists since the arrival of the Taliban,” says Samiullah (not his real name), an executive in a press protection association.
This includes “arrests, threats, arbitrary detentions, physical violence and torture” due “70% to the GDI”, the General Directorate of Intelligence, he specifies.
Unlike countries like China or Iran, Afghanistan does not imprison its journalists for long periods.
“We do not need to fill prisons with journalists to have a deterrent effect,” explains Célia Mercier, head of South Asia at RSF. “Keeping them in detention for a few days (…) can break them psychologically” because “they are generally tortured”.
Afghan journalists reported to RSF that they had suffered torture and confinement in cells with detainees from the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group threatening to kill them day and night.
“After such an ordeal, journalists will try to leave the country,” continues Célia Mercier.
– “Humiliated profession” –
Meena Akbari worked for Khurshid TV but had to flee to Pakistan in 2021 – like hundreds of other Afghan journalists – “due to numerous threats to (her) security”. She is still threatened with death, “apparently by people from the ranks of the Taliban”, on social networks and receives psychological support.
Arrested in 2023 for “espionage”, the Franco-Afghan journalist Mortaza Behboudi, who worked for several French media, was detained in Kabul for 10 months and says he was tortured “every day or almost”.
“Media collaborators in exile and foreign media are particularly targeted,” specifies Ms. Mercier.
The London-based Afghanistan International channel, for which no Afghan is no longer allowed to work, this month accused Kabul of jamming its frequencies. Rather than going into exile, some journalists are becoming YouTubers.
“No other profession has been so humiliated,” notes a journalist from the north of the country, who prefers to remain anonymous after being arrested and beaten. “With my colleagues, we are thinking about another job” because “every day new restrictions are announced”.
“If we cover (attacks) or topics related to women, we expose ourselves to threats by telephone, summons or detention,” he said.
In recent days, political talk shows, which television stations are fond of, have been drastically regulated, media managers told AFP.
The invited experts must appear on a previously established list, the themes must be approved. Any criticism of power is prohibited.
Channel directors must, after recording, redact the “weak points”.
State radio and television RTA no longer employs any female journalists, according to a source within it. In Helmand (south), women’s voices are banned on television and radio.
Surveillance of journalists continues on social networks. The press survives by self-censoring, which “is a big problem”, concedes Samiullah.
– “Alone, lost, helpless” –
The Taliban say the press is free.
Recently, Hayatullah Muhajir Farahi, Deputy Minister of Information, assured that “all media can work” in Afghanistan provided they respect “Islamic values, the best interests of the country, its culture and its traditions”.
The entry into force in August of the “law for the promotion of virtue and prevention of vice” shook the editorial offices, some of which indicated that they were the target of raids by the brigades of the eponymous ministry.
With this law, which prohibits taking images of living beings and women from making their voices heard in public, the question arises as to whether “the media will still be able to work and women will be able to appear there”, says the journalist. from the North.
The Ministry of Information did not respond to AFP’s questions.
Although the authorities “assure us that (the law) will not affect the work of journalists, we see on the ground that it really has an impact”, says Samiullah. “In July, we had two or three cases of abuse against journalists. In August, 15 or 16 cases and 11 in September.”
The only positive note is that journalists remain supported by local associations receiving funding from the European Union, UNESCO or international NGOs. These associations defend individual cases or encourage the recruitment of female journalists in certain media.
Regular discussions also take place between the media and their supervisory ministry and the rest of the government.
“When we speak with the Ministry of Information, we receive assurances that things will work out,” says Samiullah. “But when we see how a GDI guy behaves in the provinces, it gets worse.”
Another law in preparation must regulate the functioning of the media.
“Journalists are very afraid,” concludes Samiullah. “They feel alone, lost, defenseless.”
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