JOURNALISTS DETAINED AND JAILED IN SOUTH ASIA
May 1, 2023 – April 30, 2024
French-Afghan journalist Mortaza Behboudi (L) and his wife, Aleksandra Mostovaja, attend a press conference in Paris, on October 23, 2023. Behboudi, held in detention since January 2023 and freed on October 18, was one of dozens of journalists subject to opaque arrests for several months at a time. Credit: Julien De Rosa / AFP
The IFJ documented 86 cases of journalists detained or jailed in South Asia from May 2023 to April 2024, an increase from the 76 arrests recorded in the previous reporting period. Challenges to democracy saw the arrests of independent and critical journalists, with security forces continuing to crack down on those seen to align with opposition voices or insurgent groups.
The Taliban’s manipulation of Afghanistan’s media code resulted in the detentions of a staggering 37 journalists over the past 12 months, with 21 journalists and media workers held for less than one week. A slew of arrests occurred throughout August, coinciding with the second anniversary of the Taliban’s ascension to power in 2021. Several journalists were arrested on allegations of disobeying new rules and regulations, with groups of broadcast journalists detained in April, August, and May. The country’s General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) remained a central actor in the crackdown on the media, however, the year also saw the emergence of the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice as a cause of journalists detentions, often centred on the broadcasting of women’s voices or music. The year saw the release of jailed French-Afghan journalist Mortaza Behboudi after espionage charges against him were dropped on October 18, while Kyodo News correspondent Ehsanullah Akbari’s detention for his ‘critical’ reports ended following intervention from a media complaints committee. The conditions and locations of journalists taken into Taliban custody remain difficult to verify, with the communities, colleagues and families of detained journalists often struggling to confirm their wellbeing.
In Bangladesh, links to insurgent groups and bureaucratic retribution resulted in the arrests of two journalists. Desh Rupantor journalist Md Shofiuzzaman Rana was taken into custody after public servants at a government development project found issue with a Right to Information request. Daily Manab Zamin correspondent Longa Khumi was arrested for his alleged links to a militant Kuku-Chin separatist group and remains in custody.
22 journalists were detained in India, a dramatic increase from the 13 recorded in the prior period. Kashmiri journalists Sajad Gul, Irfan Mehraj, Majid Hyderi, and Aasif Sultan remain in Custody, with Sultan re-arrested in February 2024 days after his release on bail for his alleged role in a 2019 prison disturbance. October saw the raids on staff, contributors, and journalists associated with independent digital outlet NewsClick, with founder and editor Prabir Purkayastha and administrative officer Amit Chakraborty arrested in connection to a controversial New York Times report alleging the outlet received foreign funding to cover pro-China stories. Journalists covering elections, demonstrations and violence were particularly subject to short-term detentions, with some journalists in Manipur held by authorities amid ongoing ethnic violence, crackdowns on coverage seen to be ‘anti-state’, and arrests for comments and coverage of developing situations.
Nepal saw four arrests in the period, with police conduct central to both their detentions and wellbeing in custody. Nigarani Khabar reporter Aishwarya Kunwar and Seemarkha.com editor-in-chief Rajendra Nath were arrested in May 2023 while covering a clash between police and transport workers, with both journalists assaulted in custody. Kunwar and Mountain Television correspondent Pushkar Bhatta was arrested in February for their commentary on police misconduct, centred around an officer responsible for Kunwar’s earlier arrest.
In Pakistan, short-term arrests and detentions continued across the country, with journalists seen to support the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party or its leader Imran Khan arrested, placed under surveillance, or summoned by state inquiries. Several journalists, including Imran Riaz Khan, Khalid Jamil, and Asad Ali Toor were held for months at a time due to state allegations of their involvement in anti-state campaigns. Nine journalists were held for less than 24 hours, often prior to the registration of formal charges.
In Sri Lanka, six journalists were held in detention, a marked increase from the one new case recorded in the previous period. The arrest of freelancer and Federation of Media Employees Trade Unions (FMETU) National Organiser Tharindu Uduwaragedara was the subject of national outrage, after police dragged the journalist out of a rickshaw on July 28 and assaulted him in a custody without charges. Nearly a year on, police have failed to register an official complaint, with the next hearing slated for June 15, 2024. Journalists Bimal Ruhunage, and Dineth Kumara were both arrested for their alleged interference with police operations, while Ravan Lanka News editor and owner GP Nissanka was arrested at his home following a direct complaint from an army officer. TubeTamil journalists Mugunthan Divanya and Wimal Raj remain in detention due to their alleged links to a militant group.
On World Press Freedom Day 2024,14 journalists in South Asia remain behind bars. With challenges to democracy and the fundamental freedoms of expression, assembly and the press come increased threats to media workers across the region. In 2024, this list again demonstrates the distinct need for protection, support, and advocacy against the laws and systems which continue these injustices.
TOTAL JAILED OR DETAINED BY COUNTRY IN SOUTH ASIA:
Afghanistan: 37
Bangladesh: 2
Bhutan: 0
India: 22
Nepal: 4
Maldives: 0
Pakistan: 16
Sri Lanka: 6
HIGHEST NUMBER OF DETAINMENT TYPES BY COUNTRY IN SOUTH ASIA:
Currently in jail: India – 8 cases
Detained for more than one week: India & Pakistan – 5 cases
Detained for less than one week: Afghanistan – 21 cases
Detained for one day or less: Pakistan – 9 cases
JAILED JOURNALISTS – CURRENTLY IN JAIL
AFGHANISTAN
Name: Habib Rahman Taseer
Gender: Male
Detained: April 6, 2024
Job: Journalist, Radio Azadi
Accusation: Taseer was arrested after a Radio Azadi broadcast is interpreted to insult a senior Imam, and people who attend religious services at the mosques.
Status: Taseer remains in detention.
Name: Ismael Saadat
Gender: Male
Detained: April 22, 2024
Job: Reporter, NAZ FM Radio
Accusation: Saadat is arrested alongside Igra FM Radio reporter Wahidullah Masum, and Wolas Ghog reporter Ehsanullah Tasal, after they were summoned by the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, who allege they played music and broadcast women’s voices over the Eid-al-Fitr holiday in late April.
Status: Saadat remains in detention.
Name: Wahidullah Masum
Gender: Male
Detained: April 22, 2024
Job: Reporter, Igra FM Radio
Accusation: Masum is arrested alongside NAZ FM Radio reporter Ismael Saadat, and Wolas Ghog reporter Ehsanullah Tasal, after they were summoned by the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, who allege they played music and broadcast women’s voices over the Eid-al-Fitr holiday in late April.
Status: Masum remains in detention.
Name: Ehsanullah Tasal
Gender: Male
Detained: April 22, 2024
Job: Reporter, NAZ FM Radio
Accusation: Tasal is arrested alongside NAZ FM Radio reporter Ismael Saadat and Igra FM Radio reporter Wahidullah Masum after they were summoned by the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, who allege they played music and broadcast women’s voices over the Eid-al-Fitr holiday in late April.
Status: Tasal remains in detention
BANGLADESH
Name: Longa Khumi
Gender: Male
Detained: May 19, 2023
Job: Correspondent, Daily Manab Zamin
Accusation: Khumi is detained by members of the Bangladesh Army for his alleged links to separatist group the Kuki-Chin National Front, in what representatives of the armed forces claim is the result of a ‘special operation’ and due to Khumi carrying ‘confidential documents’.
Status: Khumi remains in detention.
INDIA
Name: Sajad Gul
Gender: Male
Detained: January 5, 2022
Job: Journalist, Kashmir Walla
Accusation: Gul, a trainee journalist with the Kashmir Walla, was arrested by security forces after posting a video showing a protest by the family of a killed Lashkar-e-Taiba militant on January 3. Two days later, Gul’s home was raided by security personnel at 10 pm, and the journalist was taken into detention. Police have accused him of spreading ‘disinformation and false narratives’, and creating ‘ill-will’ toward the government, and chargedunder criminal conspiracy, fear or alarm to the public, and anti-national assertions sectons of the Indian penal code.
Status: On January 15, 2022, a court ordered police to release Gul with a bond of IDR 30,000 (approx. USD 370). However, he was arrested under the Public Safety Act on January 16, 2022, and moved to a jail in Jammu.
Name: Rupesh Kumar Singh
Gender: Male
Detained: July 17, 2022
Job: Journalist, Freelance
Accusation: Singh was arrested by Jharkhand police for alleged links to the Maoists, a banned left-wing armed group. Two days prior, the journalist had released a report detailing the dumping of industrial waste on traditional tribal land in Giridih district. Relatives and supporters of the journalists have identified the lack of a definitive charge sheet against the journalist.
Status: Singh remains in detention.
Name: Irfan Mehraj
Gender: Male
Detained: March 20, 2023
Job: Journalist, freelance
Accusation: Irfan Mehraj is the latest Kashmiri journalist to be arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for his alleged involvement in sponsoring ‘terrorist operations’ and other ‘anti-national’ activities under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). The journalist is one of several arrested in an ongoing NIA investigation into an alleged NGO terrorist funding scheme.
Status: In September 2023, Delhi police filed a charge sheet 26 days after the allotted ninety-day pre-trial detention period expired. Mehraj remains in custody.
Name: Majid Hyderi
Gender: Male
Detained: September 14, 2023
Job: Freelance Journalist
Accusation: No warrant is presented during the arrest, but police later tweet that his arrest was under criminal conspiracy, intimidation, extortion, giving false information, and defamation charges. He is released on bail on September 16, before police re-arrest him under the Public Safety Act (PSA).
Status: Hyderi remains in detention.
Name: Prabir Purkayastha
Gender: Male
Detained: October 3, 2023
Job: Founder and Editor, NewsClick
Accusation: Following a raid on the offices of outlet NewsClick, Purkayastha is arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and charges under the Indian Penal Code for his alleged acceptance of Chinese funds via American billionaire Neville Roy Singham to publish news articles “inciting dissatisfaction”, criticising the Indian government’s policies, including its response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Police investigations into the alleged financial malpractice first commenced in 2020, with a First Information Report first registered in August under enmity and criminal conspiracy charges under the penal code, and multiple terror fundraising sections of the UAPA. Purkayastha’s initial pleas challenging the arrests were denied by local and high courts in October and has been held on successive judicial remands. The next remand hearing is fixed for April 30, 2024.
Status: Purkayastha remains in detention.
Name: Amit Chakraborty
Gender: Male
Detained: October 3, 2023
Job: Administrative Officer, NewsClick
Accusation: Following a raid on the offices of outlet NewsClick, Chakraborty is arrested alongside outlet founder Prabir Purkayastha under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and sections of the Indian Penal Code for the outlet’s alleged acceptance of Chinese funds via American billionaire Neville Roy Singham to publish news articles “inciting dissatisfaction”, criticising the Indian government’s policies, including its response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Police investigations into the alleged financial malpractice first commenced in 2020, with a First Information Report first registered in August under enmity and criminal conspiracy charges under the penal code, and multiple terror fundraising sections of the UAPA. Chakraborty filed an application in December 2023 seeking permission to become an approver. The next remand hearing is fixed for April 30, 2024.
Status: Chakraborty remains in detention.
Name: Aasif Sultan
Gender: Male
Detained: February 29, 2024
Job: Assistant editor, Kashmir Narrator
Accusation: Aasif Sultan is summoned to the Rainawari Police Station in Srinagar and arrested hours after his arrival in Kashmir two days after his release on Public Safety Act charges. The Jammu and Kashmir High Court ruled he was to be released in December, however this is delayed due to police processing difficulties. He was originally arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
Status: Sultan remains in detention.
Name: Rajinder Singh Taggar
Gender: Male
Detained: April 24, 2024
Job: Journalist and operator, Punjab Dastayez
Accusation: Taggar was arrested under extortion, criminal conspiracy, and wrongful restraint charges in connection to a First Information Report registered on March 20. Supporters claim his arrest is in relation to his reporting of scammers.
Status: Taggar remains in detention.
SRI LANKA
Name: Mugunthan Divanya
Gender: Female
Detained: March 29, 2021
Job: Web journalist, YouTube channel ‘TubeTamil’
Accusation: The Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) arrest Divanya for “operating a website and a YouTube channel promoting the LTTE and related terrorism activities”. She is charged under the Prevention of Terrorism (Proscription of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) Regulations No. 1 of 2011
Status: Divanya remains in detention.
Name: Wimal Raj
Gender: Male
Detained: March 29, 2021
Job: Web journalist, YouTube channel ‘TubeTamil’
Accusation: The Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) arrest Raj for “operating a website and a YouTube channel promoting the LTTE and related terrorism activities”. He is charged under the Prevention of Terrorism (Proscription of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) Regulations No. 1 of 2011
Status: Raj remains in detention.
JOURNALISTS JAILED FOR MORE THAN ONE WEEK
AFGHANISTAN
Name: Mortaza Behboudi
Gender: Male
Detained: January 7, 2023
Job: Journalist, Freelance
Accusation: French-Afghan journalist Mortaza Behboudi was detained two days after his arrival in Kabul. The journalist had returned to Afghanistan to write a report and was arrested before being able to attain a press card. Mortaza was accused of espionage, defamation, undermining state security, and anti-national sentiment charges.
Status: Following a lengthy legal battle, a Kabul criminal court acquitted Behboudi of all remaining charges on October 18, after an initial hearing on August 7 withdrew undermining state security charges. He has since returned to France.
Name: Khairullah Parhar
Gender: Male
Detained: January 9, 2023
Job: Journalist, Freelance
Accusation: Parhar was arrested on January 9, after being summoned by the General Directorate of Intelligence in Kabul to retrieve his mobile phone, confiscated in December 2022.
Status: Parhar was released on May 4, 2023, under strict conditions.
Name: Ehsanullah Akbari
Gender: Male
Detained: January 17, 2024
Job: Assistant Bureau Chief, Kyodo News Agency
Accusation: According to the journalist’s family, Akbari was summoned to the Government Media and Information Center in Kabul, where he is taken into custody. The following day, Taliban officers escort Akbari to the Kyodo News Agency’s offices, where they confiscate his computer, camera, and phone. He is arrested for preparing reports critical of the Taliban. Some of his identification documents were reportedly taken during his arrest.
Status: Released on January 25, 2024, after intervention from a complaints and media violations committee.
Name: Mehboob Hakimi
Gender: Male
Detained: August 10, 2023
Job: Freelance journalist
Accusation: Unclear.
Status: Released on September 1, 2023.
Name: Abdul Rahim Mohammadi
Gender: Male
Detained: December 4, 2023
Job: Journalist, Tamdan TV
Accusation: Mohammadi is arrested after being summoned to the Kandahar offices of the General Directorate of Intelligence. He is accused of reporting to foreign media outlets, a crime under the Taliban’s media code.
Status: Mohammadi was released.
BANGLADESH
Name: Md Shofiuzzaman Rana
Gender: Male
Detained: March 5, 2024
Job: Journalist, Desh Rupantor
Accusation: Rana is arrested after filing a Right to Information request concerning the purchase of electronic equipment for a government-led development program. He was sentenced on March 10 to six-months imprisonment for disobeying a public servant and insulting the modesty of a woman in a mobile court.
Status: Released on bail on March 12, 2024.
INDIA
Name: Fahad Shah
Gender: Male
Detained: February 4, 2022
Job: Editor, Kashmir Walla
Accusation: Prominent Kashmiri journalist Fahad Shah was arrested by Jammu and Kashmir police regarding a series of articles he published. He faces sedition charges under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for posting anti-national’ content – a Facebook post Shah published regarding a gunfight on January 30. Shah was charged under Jammu and Kashmir’s Public Safety Act (PSA) on March 14, 2023, and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for ‘unlawful activities’ on March 11, 2022.
Status: Shah was released after over 600 days in detention on November 21, 2023, with the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh ruling state investigative agencies had ‘lacked evidence’ for Shah’s charges under the UAPA.
Name: Sunil Namdeo
Gender: Male
Detained: June 1, 2023
Job: Journalist, NewsTodayCG.com
Accusation: Namdeo is arrested after police name him and Nilesh Sharma in an FIR claiming they had conspired to publish an anti-judiciary articles. When police raid Namdev’s home they reportedly find MDMA. In news articles, Namdeo’s family claim the substances were planted by police.
Status: Granted bail in January 2024.
Name: Ashutosh Negi
Gender: Male
Detained: March 5, 2024
Job: Editor, Jago Uttarakhand
Accusation: Journalist Ashutosh Negi was arrested in Pauri following the publication of several articles focused on the September 2022 murder case of a 19-year-old receptionist, in which the journalist has criticised the response by law enforcement. The case, launched by an unidentified resident of Pauri Garhwal, claims Negi used ‘casteist’ remarks and made death threats to an individual belonging to a Scheduled Caste, leading to charges under sections of the Prevention of Atrocities Act. The journalist is also accused of engaging in a struggle with police during his arrest.
Status: Released on bail on March 13, 2024.
PAKISTAN
Name: Imran Riaz Khan
Gender: Male
Detained: May 11, 2023
Job: Freelance Journalist
Accusation: Khan, prominent digital journalist and supporter of opposition political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was arrested at Sialkot Airport enroute to Oman. His location is unknown for several months, with both police and intelligence agencies denying him being in their custody. Lahore High Court orders the police to release the journalist on September 20.
Status: Released and arrived home on September 25, 2023.
Name: Nasrullah Gadani
Gender: Male
Detained: May 22, 2023
Job: Freelance journalist
Accusation Gadani was detained in Mirpur Mathelo following a Sindh Home Department order from May 16, which claim that he provoked violence against authorities, participated in and organised protests, and circulated slanderous remarks on social media in the wake of protests related to the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan
Status: Released after one month in detention.
Name: Khalid Jamil
Gender: Male
Detained: July 9, 2023
Job: Reporter, ABN News TV
Accusation: Jamil was arrested in Islamabad by Federal Investigation Agency agents and charged under the national cybercrime law with spreading ‘malicious and seditious’ sentiments against security agencies on social media platform ‘X’. Jamil was freed on orders of a special court, with charges against him dropped on December 6, 2023.
Status: Released on September 29, 2023.
Name: Asad Ali Toor
Gender: Male
Detained: February 26, 2024
Job: Freelance journalist
Accusation: Toor was arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency on charges of defaming superior court judges, amid a vitriolic social media campaign led by supporters of ousted former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Toor is placed under successive judicial remands.
Status: Released on bail on March 16, 2024.
Name: Imran Riaz Khan
Gender: Male
Detained: March 1, 2024
Job: Freelance journalist
Accusation: Imran Riaz Khan is arrested again in relation to a corruption case, from which he is released on bail on March 6, and then immediately re-arrested under anti-terrorism charges. Authorities accuse him of arson, and throwing missiles at police during protests against the execution of arrest warrants for former Prime Minster Imran Khan in May, 2023.
Status: Released on bail on March 10, 2024.
JOURNALISTS DETAINED FOR LESS THAN ONE WEEK
AFGHANISTAN
Name: Sakhi Sarwar Miakhil
Gender: Male
Detained: May 9, 2023
Job: Editor-in-chief, Gharghasht Radio & TV
Accusation: Miakhil is arrested alongside Radio Wolas editor Mohammaduddin Shah Khiyali, Radio Chinar Editor-in-chief Pamir Andish and Radio Nan reporter Abdul Rahman Ashna for their alleged airing of music programs over Eid ul-Fitr celebrations in April.
Status: Released on May 14, 2023.
Name: Mohammaduddin Shah Khiyali
Gender: Male
Detained: May 9, 2023
Job: Editor, Radio Wolas & Editor-in-chief, Radio Zarghoon & Radio Yun
Accusation: Khiyali, editor-in-chief of Radio Zarghoon and Radio Yun who also works with Radio Wolas, is arrested alongside Gharghasht Radio & TV Editor-in-chief Sakhi Sarwar Miakhil, Radio Chinar Editor-in-chief Pamir Andish and Radio Nan reporter Abdul Rahman Ashna for their alleged airing of music programs over Eid ul-Fitr celebrations in April.
Status: Released on May 14, 2023.
Name: Pamir Andish
Gender: Male
Detained: May 9, 2023
Job: Editor-in-chief, Radio Chinar
Accusation: Andish is arrested alongside Gharghasht Radio & TV Editor-in-chief Sakhi Sarwar Miakhil, editor of Radio Wolas and editor-in-chief of Radio Zarghoon and Radio Yun Mohammaduddin Shah Khiyali, Radio Chinar Editor-in-chief Pamir Andish and Radio Nan reporter Abdul Rahman Ashna for their alleged airing of music programs over Eid ul-Fitr celebrations in April.
Status: Released on May 14, 2023.
Name: Abdul Rahman Ashna
Gender: Male
Detained: May 9, 2023
Job: Reporter, Radio Nan
Accusation: Ashna is arrested alongside Gharghasht Radio & TV Editor-in-chief Sakhi Sarwar Miakhil, editor of Radio Wolas and editor-in-chief of Radio Zarghoon and Radio Yun Mohammaduddin Shah Khiyali, Radio Chinar Editor-in-chief Pamir Andish and Radio Nan reporter Abdul Rahman Ashna for their alleged airing of music programs over Eid ul-Fitr celebrations in May.
Status: Released on May 14, 2023.
Name: Ali Latifi
Gender: Male
Detained: May 19, 2023
Job: Freelance journalist
Accusation: Freelance journalist and Afghan-American dual citizen Ali Latifi is arrested after Taliban officials accuse him of consuming alcohol, a charge he denies. Members of the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence confiscate his phone and laptop, before
Status: Released the following day.
Name: Reza Shahir
Gender: Male
Detained: June 18, 2023
Job: Freelance journalist
Accusation: Shahir is arrested while returning from self-imposed exile in Iran to resolve issues with his visa. Shahir is known for coverage critical of the Taliban regime, and had been previously targeted for his reportage in April and June 2021.
Status: Released or escapes Taliban custody on June 19, 2023.
Name: Irfanullah Bidar
Gender: Male
Detained: July 12, 2023
Job: Freelance Journalist
Accusation: Unknown assailants, widely believed to be members of the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence, blindfold and abduct Bidar outside a mosque in Jalalabad. The Taliban fail to provide a reason behind the arrest.
Status: Released on July 26, 2023.
Name: Hasib Hassas
Gender: Male
Detained: August 10, 2023
Job: Journalist, Salam Watandar
Accusation: Hassas is arrested during a General Directorate of Intelligence raid on broadcaster Uranus TV on August 10, with reports claiming his arrest was in relation to his alleged work for foreign media outlets.
Status: Released on August 31, 2023.
Name: Faqir Faqirzai
Gender: Male
Detained: August 10, 2023
Job: Manager, Killid Radio
Accusation: Killid Radio manager Faqir Faqirzai and journalist Jan Agha Saleh are taken into the custody of the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence after Taliban representatives storm the broadcaster’s studios at approximately 3 pm. Later reports link the arrests to alleged work done for foreign media outlets.
Status: Released on August 31, 2023.
Name: Jan Agha Saleh
Gender: Male
Detained: August 10, 2023
Job: Journalist, Killid Radio
Accusation: Killid Radio manager Faqir Faqirzai and journalist Jan Agha Saleh are taken into the custody of the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence after Taliban representatives storm the broadcaster’s studios at approximately 3 pm. Later reports link the arrests to alleged work done for foreign media outlets.
Status: Released on August 31, 2023.
Name: Habibullah Sarab
Gender: Male
Detained: August 10, 2023
Job: Reporter, Ariana News TV
Accusation: Sarab is detained by members of the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence on August 11, with reports claiming his arrest was in relation to his alleged work for foreign media outlets.
Status: Released on September 2, 2023.
Name: Parviz Sargand
Gender: Male
Detained: August 10, 2023
Job: Freelance journalist
Accusation: Sargand is detained by the General Directorate of Intelligence in Asadabad on August 11, with reports claiming his arrest was in relation to his alleged work for foreign media outlets.
Status: Released on September 2, 2023.
Name: Ataullah Omar
Gender: Male
Detained: August 13, 2023
Job: Reporter, TOLO News
Accusation: Omar is arrested after being summoned to the General Directorate of Intelligence’s offices in Kandahar, where he is questioned about any work he had conducted for foreign media outlets.
Status: Released on August 31, 2023.
Name: Shamsullah Omari
Gender: Male
Detained: August 13, 2023
Job: Reporter
Accusation: Omari is arrested in relation to his work.
Status: Released on August 24, 2023.
Name: Mohammad Hossein Velayati
Gender: Male
Detained: August 19, 2023
Job: Freelance Journalist
Accusation: An Iranian photojournalist returning from a non-work-related trip to Afghanistan, Velayati is detained at Kabul International Airport while attempting to return to Iran. The reasons behind his arrest are unclear. Extensive international dialogues between Iranian officials and their Taliban counterparts are carried out.
Status: Transferred to the custody of the Iranian Embassy in Kabul on August 26, 2023.
Name: Sultan Ali Javadi
Gender: Male
Detained: October 7, 2023
Job: Manager, Nasim Radio
Accusation: Following their arrests in September, manager Sultan Ali Javadi, and reporters Saifullah Razaei and Mojtaba Qasemi are arrested for the second time in under two weeks. The detentions are suspected to be in relation to the airing of a foreign radio program. Javadi is sentenced to one year in prison on December 10 for allegedly broadcasting “propaganda against the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” and conducting “espionage for foreign countries”.
Status: Released on April 6, 2024.
Name: Saifullah Razaei
Gender: Male
Detained: October 7, 2023
Job: Reporter, Nasim Radio
Accusation: Following their arrests in September, manager Sultan Ali Javadi, and reporters Saifullah Razaei and Mojtaba Qasemi are arrested for the second time in under two weeks. The detentions are suspected to be in relation to the airing of a foreign radio program.
Status: Released on October 18, 2023, after posting bail, and are still working at a re-opened Radio Nazim.
Name: Mojtaba Qasemi
Gender: Male
Detained: October 7, 2023
Job: Reporter, Nasim Radio
Accusation: Following their arrests in September, manager Sultan Ali Javadi, and reporters Saifullah Razaei and Mojtaba Qasemi are arrested for the second time in under two weeks. The detentions are suspected to be in relation to the airing of a foreign radio program.
Status: Released on October 18, 2023, after posting bail, and are still working at a re-opened Radio Nazim.
Name: Abdulhaq Hamidi
Gender: Male
Detained: January 18, 2024
Job: Director, Garhdesh Ettelaat News Agency
Accusation: Hamidi and owner Adhman Javadi Rasouli are summoned to the Kabul offices of the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence after receiving an anonymous phone call. They are both detained and interrogated on arrival. In his absence, Hamidi’s home is searched by Taliban members, who confiscate his mobile phone. Their families reportedly assure the GDI officers they would not violate Taliban media restrictions.
Status: Released on January 20, 2024.
Name: Ahmad Javadi Rasouli
Gender: Male
Detained: January 18, 2024
Job: Owner, Garhdesh Ettelaat News Agency
Accusation: Ahmad Javadi Rasouli and Director Abdulhaq Hamidi are summoned to the Kabul offices of the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence after receiving an anonymous phone call. They are both detained and interrogated on arrival.Their families reportedly assure the GDI officers they would not violate Taliban media restrictions.
Status: Released on January 20, 2024.
Name: Saifullah Karimi
Gender: Male
Detained: February 10, 2024
Job: Reporter in Pajhwok News Agency
Accusation: Karimi is arrested by the governor of Sanmagan and imprisoned following his reports on the protests by hotel owners of Samangan.
Status: Released after two days.
INDIA
Name: Bhawana Kishore
Gender: Female
Detained: May 5, 2023
Job: Reporter, Times Now Navbharat
Accusation: Times Now Navbharat channel reporter Bhawana Kishore, video journalist Mrityunjay Kumar, and driver Parminder Singh, are arrested in Ludhiana for allegedly hitting a women with their vehicle, and using ‘casteist slurs’ while travelling to cover an rally organised by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party. Kishore and Kumar claim the arrest was due to their critical reporting on the high costs of recent renovations to the chief minister’s residence in Delhi.
Status: Granted interim bail by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on May 6, 2023.
Name: Mrityunjay Kumar
Gender: Male
Detained: May 5, 2023
Job: Reporter, Times Now Navbharat
Accusation: Times Now Navbharat channel reporter Bhawana Kishore, video journalist Mrityunjay Kumar, and driver Parminder Singh, are arrested in Ludhiana for allegedly hitting a women with their vehicle, and using ‘casteist slurs’ while travelling to cover an rally organised by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party. Kishore and Kumar claim the arrest was due to their critical reporting on the high costs of recent renovations to the chief minister’s residence in Delhi.
Name: Badri Seshadri
Gender: Male
Detained: July 29, 2023
Job: Blogger, Writer
Accusation: Seshadri is charged with ‘public provocation with intent to cause riots, promotion of enmity between groups, and giving statements conducive to public mischief’ for his comments critical of senior judicial figures related to ethnic violence in Manipur.
Status: Released on conditional bail on August 1, to report to Tiruchi City’s Srirangam Police Station daily for two weeks.
Name: Debmalya Bagchi
Gender: Male
Detained: September 6, 2023
Job: Correspondent, Anandabazar Patrika
Accusation: Bagchi is accused of assaulting and verbally abusing Saraswati Singh, with the First Information Report responsible for his arrest occurring days after the publication of several articles highlighting illegal liquor brewing in the state. In an interview Singh reportedly claims to have fabricated the FIR.
Status: Released on bail on September 14.
Name: Wangkhemcha Shyamjai
Gender: Male
Detained: December 28, 2023
Job: Editor, Kangleipaki Meira
Accusation: Police arrest Shyamjai in relation to a December 2 article allegedly contributing to the ongoing conflict by causing “disharmony and tension”.
Status: Granted bail on December 31, 2024.
Name: Dhanabir Maibam
Gender: Male
Detained: January 5, 2024
Job: Editor, Hueiyen Lanpao
Accusation: Maibam is arrested following a report on the reported breakdown of law and order in the eastern Tengnoupal district in October 2023, with Maibam booked under criminal conspiracy and promotion of enmity under the Indian Penal Code, and several offences under the Official Secrets Act.
Status: Granted bail on January 8, 2024.
Name: Santu Pan
Gender: Male
Detained: February 19, 2024
Job: Correspondent, Republic Bangla
Accusation: Santu Pan is charged with allegedly illegally entering the residence of a woman and charged under several sections of the Indian Penal Code while covering protests against West Bengal state officials for alleged sexual misconduct.
Status: Granted bail on February 22, 2024.
NEPAL
Name: Aishwarya Kunwar
Gender: Female
Detained: February 10, 2024
Job: Reporter, Nigarani Khabar
Accusation: Kunwar and Bhatta were arrested under Section 47of the Electronic Transactions Act for their coverage and commentary of alleged police misconduct in Kanchanpur, centred around an officer responsible for the journalist’s arrest in May. They are taken into custody,
Status: Released on February 15, 2024.
Name: Pushkar Bhatta
Gender: Male
Detained: February 10, 2024
Job: Correspondent, Mountain Television
Accusation: Kunwar and Bhatta were arrested under Section 47 of the Electronic Transactions Act for their coverage and commentary of alleged police misconduct in Kanchanpur, centred around an officer responsible for Kunwar’s earlier arrest in May. They are taken into custody,
Status: Released on February 14, 2024.
PAKISTAN
Name: Orya Maqbool Jan
Gender: Male
Detained: May 13, 2023
Job: Freelance journalist
Accusation: Jan is arrested outside his home, he is a known supporter of opposition political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
Status: Released after several days in detention.
Name: Sami Abraham
Gender: Male
Detained: May 24, 2023
Job: Anchor, BOL News
Accusation: Vocal Imran Khan supporter Sami Abraham is taken into custody by a group of unidentified men while leaving the broadcaster’s offices to travel home. The men confiscate his phones and car keys. No formal charges are registered.
Status: Released on May 30, 2023.
SRI LANKA
Name: Tharindu Uduwaragedara
Gender: Male
Detained: July 28, 2023
Job: Freelance journalist
Accusation: Freelance journalist Tharindu Uduwaragedara is forcibly taken into custody while attending a trade-union led protest in Colombo. He was dragged out of a rickshaw and beaten by police while attempting to leave the protest site and assaulted while transported to Borella Police Station. He is held without charges and granted bail after 24 hours in custody.
Status: Released on bail on July 29, 2023.
Name: Dineth Kumara
Gender: Male
Detained: November 30, 2023
Job: Reporter, Sri Lanka Television
Accusation: Kumara is assaulted by police officers while covering the filing of a complaint near the Bingiriya Police Station. Police damage his equipment, before taking him into custody.
Status: Granted bail on December 1, 2023.
Name: GP Nissanka
Gender: Male
Detained: March 5, 2024
Job: Ravana Lanka News, owner and editor
Accusation: Police arrest Nissanka at his home following a complaint by an army commander regarding an article, in which the journalist questions the officer’s conduct. He is charged under the Computer Crime Act for spreading false reports to promote panic. His phone is seized and remanded to police custody.
Status: Released on bail on March 20.
Name: Bimal Ruhunage
Gender: Male
Detained: March 6, 2024
Job: Journalist, Freelance
Accusation: Ruhunage was arrested from his home for his filming of a police operation near a bus station on March 2, in which a police officer attempted to obstruct his coverage of the removal of a prospective adoptive mother and a child from a bus station. He was charged with obstruction of police duties.
Status: He is granted bail on March 11, but is required to appear in court on May 13.
JOURNALISTS DETAINED 24 HOURS OR LESS
AFGHANISTAN
Name: Latif Yaqubi
Gender: Male
Detained: July 10, 2023
Job: Reporter, Voice of America
Accusation: Yaqubi is arrested by members of the General Directorate of Intelligence while attending a wedding ceremony in Nawabad. He is questioned over his work with Voice of America and accused of spying for the United States and other western powers.
Status: Released after 13 hours in custody.
Name: Waheedur Rahman Afghanmal
Gender: Male
Detained: August 13, 2023
Job: Reporter, Daily Etilat-e Roz & Alive-in Afghanistan
Accusation: Afghanmal is taken into custody outside the Kandahar Press Club. He is questioned about work he had done for foreign or exiled media groups.
Status: Released on bail the following night.
Name: Sultan Ali Javadi
Gender: Male
Detained: September 17, 2023
Job: Manager, Nasim Radio
Accusation: Manager Sultan Ali Javadi, and reporters Saifullah Razaei and Mojtaba Qasemi are arrested following a raid on the offices of independent broadcaster Radio Nasim at approximately 12:00 pm. Members of the Taliban-controlled General Directorate of Intelligence confiscate mobile phones, recorders. The detentions are suspected to be in relation to the airing of a foreign radio program.
Status: All three are released at approximately 5:00 pm after posting bail.
Name: Saifullah Razaei
Gender: Male
Detained: September 17, 2023
Job: Reporter, Nasim Radio
Accusation: Manager Sultan Ali Javadi, and reporters Saifullah Razaei and Mojtaba Qasemi are arrested following a raid on the offices of independent broadcaster Radio Nasim at approximately 12:00 pm. Members of the Taliban-controlled General Directorate of Intelligence confiscate mobile phones, recorders. The detentions are suspected to be in relation to the airing of a foreign radio program.
Status: Released on the same day after posting bail.
Name: Mojtaba Qasemi
Gender: Male
Detained: September 17, 2023
Job: Reporter, Nasim Radio
Accusation: Manager Sultan Ali Javadi, and reporters Saifullah Razaei and Mojtaba Qasemi are arrested following a raid on the offices of independent broadcaster Radio Nasim at approximately 12:00 pm. Members of the Taliban-controlled General Directorate of Intelligence confiscate mobile phones, recorders. The detentions are suspected to be in relation to the airing of a foreign radio program.
Status: Released on the same day after posting bail.
Name: Mansoor Nekmal
Gender: Male
Detained: February 15, 2024
Job: Editor-in-Chief, Khaama Press
Accusation: Nekmal was summoned by a representative from the Ministry of Vice and Virtue regarding a recent Khaama Press article on Taliban legislation mandating strict head coverings and the resulting lack of women in Kabul’s streets. On arrival at the offices, he is taken into custody.
Status: Nekmal is released the next day.
INDIA
Name: Sakshi Joshi
Gender: Female
Detained: May 3, 2023
Job: Freelance Journalist
Accusation: Joshi was detained less than an hour after midnight on May 3 while covering a wrestler’s protest against sexual harassment within India’s chief wrestling body. Police did not provide a reason for the arrest, before transporting her to Delhi’s Mandir Marg Police Station.
Status: Released after approximately two hours in custody in the early morning of May 3, in violation of Indian guidelines for the treatment of female detainees.
Name: Mukesh Kumar
Gender: Male
Detained: August 9, 2023
Job: Resident Editor, Sudarshan News
Accusation: Kumar was arrested in relation to several posts on social media platform Twitter, (now ‘X’), for allegedly posting ‘misleading and false information’ related to communal violence originating in the northern Haryana state. He claims Qatari news outlet Al Jazeera has advocated for his arrest.
Status: Released after less than 24 hours.
Name: Tennoson Pheiray
Gender: Male
Detained: September 26, 2023
Job: ISTV News, District Correspondent and Reporter, Ukhrul Times
Accusation: Pheiray is briefly detained by Assam Rifles soldiers while he travels to Imphal, the state capital, reportedly due to his resemblance to an officer within a local separatist group.
Status: Released after a brief discussion with an army officer.
NEPAL
Name: Rajendra Nath
Gender: Male
Detained: May 16, 2023
Job: Editor-in-chief, Seemarkha.com
Accusation: Nath and Nigarani Khabar reporter Aishwarya Kunwar are arrested by police while covering a clash between law enforcement and transport workers. Kunwar is transported to a local police station and assaulted. Nath is handcuffed and taken into custody, where he was assaulted.
Status: Nath was released after several hours in custody.
Name: Aishwarya Kunwar
Gender: Female
Detained: May 16, 2023
Job: Reporter, Nigarani Khabar
Accusation: Kunwar and Seemarkha.com editor-in-Chief Rajendra Nath are arrested by police while covering a clash between law enforcement and transport workers. Kunwar is transported to a local police station and assaulted.
Status: Kunwar was released after several hours in custody.
PAKISTAN
Name: Aftab Iqbal
Gender: Male
Detained: May 11, 2023
Job: Anchor, Samaa TV
Accusation: Iqbal, known supporter of opposition political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was arrested at his farmhouse in Lahore days after civil unrest erupted following the execution of arrest warrants against former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Iqbal is taken into custody by police, who assault his security personnel during the arrest.
Status: Following a Lahore High Court order to Police to release the journalist on September 20. The journalist arrived home in Sialkot City on May 12, 2024.
Name: Zubair Anjum
Gender: Male
Detained: June 6, 2023
Job: Producer, Geo News
Accusation: Anjum was abducted by police and unidentified men in plain clothes from his home in Karachi. Police confiscate the recording device in a nearby CCTV camera, and allegedly assault Anjum’s relatives.
Status: Returned home approximately 24 hours later.
Name: Mohammad Tahir Sadid
Gender: Male
Detained: June 23, 2023
Job: Freelance journalist
Accusation: An exiled Afghan journalist, Sadid was detained by men claiming to be the police while travelling to a local market in the evening of June 23, allegedly due to visa issues. Sadid’s friend claims the men asked for a bribe or ransom of PKR 400,000, or USD 1,400. The Afghan diaspora media community advocates for his release.
Status: Released the same day.
Name: Syed Muhammad Ansari
Gender: Male
Detained: July 9, 2023
Job: Jang, reporter
Accusation: Ansari is arrested by police and unidentified men in plainclothes, suspected to be intelligence personnel, outside his home. He is kept blindfolded through his custody, but no formal charges are raised against him.
Status: Released the same day.
Name: Fayyaz Zafar
Gender: Male
Detained: July 9, 2023
Job: Correspondent, Mashriq Daily & Voice of America
Accusation: Zafar’s vehicle is stopped by approximately 30 police officers and masked men in Swat, who strike his car and take him into custody. In a detention order, police claim Zafar had exploited freedom of speech, and spread misleading or false information online via social media. The PFUJ claims this was a case of mistaken identity.
Status: Zafar was released later the same day.
Name: Imran Riaz Khan
Gender: Male
Detained: February 2, 2024
Job: Freelance Journalist
Accusation: Imran Riaz Khan was arrested on terrorism charges at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport, following a Federal Investigation Authority investigation under the 2016 Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act claimed he had spread hate speech, and promoted enmity between the public and state institutions, after he questioned a former army general on the political involvement of the Pakistani armed forces on January 30.
Status: Charges dismissed on February 3, 2024.
Name: Bilal Sikander
Gender: Male
Detained: April 21, 2024
Job: Reporter, 92 News
Accusation: 92 News journalist Bilal Sikander, cameraperson Mushtaq Danyal, and GNN News camera person Raees Dilawar, alongside several local media workers, were detained by police while covering by-elections in Gujarat city. While in custody, police assault the journalists and damage their equipment.
Status: All journalists are released after several hours in custody.
Name: Mushtaq Danyal
Gender: Male
Detained: April 21, 2024
Job: Cameraperson, 92 News
Accusation: 92 News journalist Bilal Sikander, cameraperson Mushtaq Danyal, and GNN News camera person Raees Dilawar, alongside several local media workers, were detained by police while covering by-elections in Gujarat city. While in custody, police assault the journalists and damage their equipment.
Status: All journalists are released after several hours in custody.
Name: Raees Dilawar
Gender: Male
Detained: April 21, 2024
Job: Cameraperson, GNN News
Accusation: 92 News journalist Bilal Sikander, cameraperson Mushtaq Danyal, and GNN News camera person Raees Dilawar, alongside several local media workers, were detained by police while covering by-elections in Gujarat city. While in custody, police assault the journalists and damage their equipment.
Status: All journalists are released after several hours in custody.
STATUS UNKNOWN
AFGHANISTAN
Name: Faizullah Faizbakhsh
Gender: Male
Detained: August 17, 2022
Job: Freelance Producer
Accusation: Afghan producer Faizullah Faizbakhsh and American journalist and film maker Ivor Shearer were filming a documentary on the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul when they were detained by police. The pair had their passports and IDs confiscated and were called American spies, before being transferred to a second, unknown location.
Status: Faizkakhsh’s whereabouts and status are currently unknown.
INDIA
Name: Nilesh Sharma
Gender: Male
Detained: June 11, 2023
Job: Editor, India Writers
Accusation: Sharma is arrested by Bilaspur district police in Raipur, days after the arrest of Sunil Namdev, who police allege he had conspired with to write inaccurate and malicious WhatsApp messages against judicial, administrative and government officials. He is charged under intentional insult and causing fear charges.
Status: Unclear (Bail was denied by a lower court).