ANI
13 May 2022, 21:48 GMT+10
Kabul [Afghanistan], May 13 (ANI): Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned an Afghan journalist's trial by a military court last weekend, as well as recent arbitrary and illegal arrests of other journalists in Afghanistan.
The Taliban government has not kept its promise to apply the country's press law, under which journalists are guaranteed the freedom to work, according to RSF.
Khalid Qaderi, a poet and journalist with Radio Norroz in the western city of Herat, was sentenced to a year in prison by a military court in Herat on 7 May, his sister - a lawyer and human rights defender - reported in a tweet.
After his arrest by the Taliban intelligence agency (Istikhbarat) on March 17, his family spent several days without knowing what had happened to him. His case was transferred to the Herat provincial prosecutor's office, whose chief prosecutor presented the case during the trial before the military court.
RSF has learned that this young journalist was accused of posting content critical of the Taliban, including his radio broadcasts, on Facebook. In his defence, Qaderi told the court: "I realised my errors and I deleted the posts from my Facebook page."According to the media watchdog, this is the first time in 20 years in Afghanistan that a journalist has been tried by a military court, which is supposedly reserved for members of the armed forces. The trial and sentence were illegal as well as disproportionate.
Qaderi was not defended by a lawyer and was even forced to renounce his right of appeal, RSF said.
Under Afghan law, complaints against journalists and media outlets are supposed to be handled by a Media Offences Verification Commission, and can be transferred to a court only if this commission so decides.
The recent victims of arbitrary arrest include Elaham Haquiquat, a journalist who was arrested by police in the southern city of Kandahar on April 17 for trying to cover a protest, and was held for several hours. (ANI)Get a daily dose of Central Asia Times news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Central Asia Times.
More InformationGENEVA, Switzerland: A new United Nations report alleges that dozens of global corporations are profiting from and helping sustain...
LONDON, UK - Lawmakers in the United Kingdom have voted overwhelmingly to proscribe the direct-action group Palestine Action as a terrorist...
DHARAMSHALA, India: The Dalai Lama is set to address a significant three-day conference of Buddhist leaders this week, coinciding with...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: In a significant ruling last week, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Texas law requiring age verification for users...
ISTANBUL/PARIS/BRUSSELS: As searing temperatures blanket much of Europe, wildfires are erupting and evacuation orders are being issued...
VENICE, Italy: Over the weekend, hundreds of protesters marched through the narrow streets of Venice to voice their opposition to billionaire...
DHARAMSHALA, India: The Dalai Lama is set to address a significant three-day conference of Buddhist leaders this week, coinciding with...
BEIJING, China: China's national soccer team may struggle to stir excitement, but its humanoid robots are drawing cheers — and not...
]LONDON, U.K.: A World Health Organization (WHO) expert group investigating the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic released its final...
FRANKFURT, Germany: Germany has become the latest country to challenge Chinese AI firm DeepSeek over its data practices, as pressure...
Nearly three months after a devastating earthquake struck Myanmar, the country remains trapped in a deepening crisis, compounded by...
Moscow seeks to build a full-fledged partnership, according to its ambassador in Kabul Moscow has officially recognized the Taliban...