Afghan journalists forced to run a murderous gauntlet
In recent months, Afghanistan has been rocked by a wave of targeted killings aiming at civil rights activists and journalists. Marian Brehmer talked to Mujeeb Khalvatgar, director of NGO NAI – Supporting Open Media in Afghanistan, about the dire situation currently facing Afghan journalists
Over the past 75 days, six journalists have been killed in Afghanistan. Who are the perpetrators of this new wave of violence?
Mujeeb Khalvatgar:Attacks on soft targets across the country have surged during the ongoing peace negotiations with the Taliban. This strategy is not new; but for nineteen years the Afghan government has done nothing towards seriously reviewing and pursuing such cases of violence. This time, the government is blaming the Taliban as the perpetrators, thus politicising the cases, while publishing only vague information about the incidents. It is therefore impossible to find out what actually happened. We believe the