Annual Report of the Journalists Center: Violations of Media and Journalists’ Rights Increased by 24%

The Journalists Center of Afghanistan, in its annual report, announced that violations of media and journalists’ rights in the current solar year (1403), which corresponds to 2024 in the Gregorian calendar, have increased by 24% compared to the previous year (1402, 2023).

The annual report, which was released today, Sunday, 26th of Hoot (March 16, 2025), on the eve of “National Journalists’ Day,” presents alarming statistics on the systematic suppression of freedom of expression under Taliban rule.

According to the report, 172 incidents of media and journalists’ rights violations have been recorded this year, including 122 cases of threats and 50 cases of the detention of journalists and media employees. Among these, at least 22 incidents involve the banning or closure of media outlets, 15 of which are still ongoing. Additionally, 10 detained journalists are still in prison, and four have been sentenced to 2 to 3 years in jail.

The center emphasized that the implementation of the “Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice” law by the Taliban has granted broad powers to the group’s enforcers. These enforcers, in collaboration with the Taliban intelligence agency, take arbitrary actions against journalists and media outlets. The recent ban on the “live image of the dead” has further complicated the suppression of media freedom.

This year, the Taliban issued five new directives to the media, including the prohibition of live broadcasting of political and economic programs, the prohibition of producing critical programs about the Taliban’s laws, the forced use of terms like “Shahid” in reports about Taliban casualties, and the prohibition of inviting guests not approved by the Taliban in media programs.

Violating these directives has led to penalties such as the suspension or permanent closure of media outlets.

Although reports of physical attacks on media outlets have decreased in 1403 (2024), the Journalists Center of Afghanistan has warned that the Taliban’s restrictions, since their return to power in Afghanistan, have significantly narrowed the media working environment.

In the previous year (1402/ 2023), the center had recorded 139 incidents of media rights violations, including 80 threats and 59 detentions.

Since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, they have transformed Afghanistan’s media landscape into one of the most restrictive environments in the world through raids on media offices, the detention of journalists, and the enactment of strict laws.