A group identifying as Taliban militants arrested Ariana News journalists Aslam Hijab and Waris Hasrat on January 31. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its Afghanistan affiliate, the Afghan Independent Journalists Association (AIJA) condemn the Taliban’s persecution of Afghan media workers and call for the journalists’ immediate release.
Several Afghan journalists have been attacked and detained in the first weeks of 2022, as the Taliban assures press freedom organisations of its commitment to an independent and free media. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the mounting violence and intimidation of Afghanistan’s journalists and media workers and calls for increased efforts to safeguard press freedom in the country.