By Rukhshana Media
Two days after Taliban gunmen cancelled a planned press conference by the Afghanistan Federation of Journalists and Media in Kabul, the group’s spokesmen defended their clampdown on media organizations on Friday.
The planned press conference was set to release a report which said the Taliban were responsible for 62 % of threats and intimidation against the journalist, according to a copy of the report shared with Rukhshana Media.
Without directly addressing why the conference was cancelled, the Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, seemingly criticizes the media for functioning outside the country in a tweet on Friday. “[I]f the media outlets want to operate as normal media outlets, they must renew their expired licenses, pay the taxes and operate in a genuine and healthy manner within the framework of the media law,” he tweeted.
However, Mir Ali Asghar Akbarzada, a member of the Afghanistan Federation of Journalists and Media, told Rukhshana Media the armed Taliban who entered the venue and cancelled the conference said the Taliban do not “recognize” the media law.
“The Islamic Emirate cancelled our press conference without even asking what was on our agenda. They said we have to ask for permission from the Taliban when we want to hold press conferences,” Akbarzada said in a phone interview on Wednesday.
The Taliban’s clampdown of the press conference came under criticism of the international organizations. Amnesty International called it “a blatant attack” on journalism, and the UNAMA called it “a disturbing restriction on free expression.”
Although the Taliban pledged to respect media freedom in their first press conference in Kabul on August 17, they arrested, tortured, threatened, and intimidated journalists in the past five months.
Afghanistan Federation of Journalists and Media’s report shows since the Taliban took over in August, 318 media outlets have been closed due to the economic crisis and the Taliban’s restriction on media.
