EU, UNAMA, Amnesty Intl asks about two missing reporters

The Free Speech Hub in a statement said the two reporters–Aslam Hejab and Waris Hasrat–were arrested by Islamic Emirate forces on Monday and so far the reasons behind their arrest are not known.

The statement also said that the whereabouts of the two reporters are unknown. “The Free Speech Hub wants the Taliban to immediately release these two reporters and stop cracking down on freedom of expression,” the statement reads.

Amnesty International on Tuesday said the arrest of the two journalists was “unjustifiable” and called on the Islamic Emirate to release them.

“Such escalating attacks on media freedom are a grave threat to the right to freedom of expression. The Taliban must unconditionally and immediately release them,” Amnesty International said in a tweet.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) also reacted to the arrest of the two reporters and called on the Islamic Emirate to make clear why it has arrested them and also make clear the whereabouts of women activists who went missing two weeks ago.

“Mounting concern about restriction on media and free expression. UN urges Taliban to make public why they detained these Ariana News reporters and to respect Afghan’s rights,” UNAMA tweeted.

The EU ambassador to Afghanistan, Andreas von Brandt, also reacted to the arrest of the journalists. “Still hard to grasp why those you claim to work for justice and better governance don’t respect journalists working to improve transparency, governance and justice in Afghanistan,” he tweeted.

The Islamic Emirate said investigations into the detentions are underway. “We heard about the two journalists, investigations have already started about these two journalists and whether they have been detained or not. The issue is not completely clear yet,” Said Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman of the Islamic Emirate.