Press Statement

Journalist detained without charges in Afghanistan

13 May, 2014

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins the Afghanistan Independent Journalists Association (AIJA) in condemning the detention of a journalist without charge.

Syed Rahman Bekore, a member of the AIJA and a local reporter stationed at Kunar province for the Waqt News Agency was arrested on April 27 along with a Deutsche Welle reporter Abdullah Nezami and another local in Jalalabad without a warrant.

While the other two were released after a matter of hours, the National Directorate of Security (NDS) has kept Bekore in custody in an undisclosed location for two weeks without charge. His family and colleagues have not been provided any information about his situation.

The AIJA asserts that the arrest is a result of Bekore’s criticism of Afghan political personalities on social media.

The AIJA have demandedthat the NDS clarify the charges against Bekore and outline the reason for his arrest.

The AIJA said in a statement: “We ask the NDS to disclose his location and health condition. Further, we call on authorities to allow permission for his family to visit him.”

The IFJ said: “Syed Rahman Bekore has been arrested without a warrant and has been detained two weeks without charge. His family members do not know about his condition or location. This is unacceptable. We urge the Afghan Government to ensure that the basic human rights of the arrested journalist are being seen to.”

The IFJ said: “We urge the government to respect their own prevailing national law, and to either immediately justify his detention or release him.”

Written By

IFJ Asia-Pacific IFJ Asia-Pacific

The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 140 countries.
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