HRW: Taliban are deliberately killing Afghan journalists

KABUL (Pajhwok): Afghan journalists, particularly women media workers, are increasingly and deliberately being killed by the Taliban, says a rights group.

In a new report, Human Rights Watch accused militant commanders in Taliban-controlled areas of using direct threats and violence to control the media coverage of their activities.

HRW blamed the insurgent leaders of using oral or written threats through phones, letters and social media In areas beyond their control.

The report added: “Those making the threats often have an intimate knowledge of a journalist’s work, family and movements and use this information to either compel them to self-censor, leave their work altogether, or face violent consequences.”.

On the other hand, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid spurned the HRW claims as “unfounded and based on Kabul’s intelligence agencies.”

Between November 2020 and March 2021, HRW interviewed 46 media workers in several provinces and reported Taliban commanders were apparently authorised to decide on their own on targeting journalists, without approval from senior Taliban leaders.

The organisation said: “The commanders have considerable autonomy to carry out punishments, including targeted killings.”

Patricia Gossman, associate Asia director, noted: “By silencing critics through threats and violence, the Taliban have undermined hopes for preserving an open society in Afghanistan.”

In a couple of months, at least eight journalists were killed. However, none of those attacks were claimed by Taliban. For a few of them, the Islamic State claimed the credit.

A journalist from Kandahar told HRW the Taliban threatened him after he refused to inflate casualty figures in a suicide attack.

Journalists were targeted for covering Taliban’s military operations in southern Helmand province, the report continued.

HRW recalled: “In the months before he was killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) on November 11, Elyas Dayee had received multiple threats from Taliban commanders in Helmand.”

The insurgents warned the journalist to stop his reporting on their military operations.

One journalist, speaking to the rights group, claimed that after defying Taliban demands, he received a call and a threat to “count down to his death.”

Women journalists have faced threats not just because of their work but also due to their gender, the report said.

HRW said several female journalists, including some famous names, had either left their profession or left the country due to direct threats.

pr/mud