The Taliban’s Vice and Virtue police have detained three journalists in Khost province for broadcasting music and engaging with female listeners, according to the Afghanistan Journalists Center (AfJC).
Reporters Ismail Saadat from Radio Naz, Wahidullah Masoom from Radio Iqra, and Ehsanullah Tasal from Sada-e-Mardom were summoned and detained by the Taliban morality police on Tuesday around 10am, the AfJC said in a released statement.
The AfJC said initially it was the radio station managers who were invited by the Taliban for a joint meeting, but in their absence, the journalists attended on their behalf.
There, the three men were informed of their radio station’s violation of orders against broadcasting music and interacting with female audiences and were told they would face court, the AfJC said.
The Taliban’s vice and virtue department in Khost sent a Whatsapp message to a group chat it has with local journalists.
While the detained journalists and their media outlets were not named, the message repeated previous directives that background music in programs i and phone calls with women in entertainment programs are banned.
The Taliban message said that despite repeated warnings, some media outlets have continued to violate these directives and consequently, they have been sentenced to prison, with future referrals to court.
The AfJC has called for the immediate and unconditional release of the journalists.
Since assuming power in Afghanistan on August 15, the Taliban has enforced a ban on music being broadcast. In February, local Taliban authorities in Khost declared women and girls were restricted from participating in media calls.
The Taliban has imposed severe restrictions on journalists and media outlets in Afghanistan since 2021. Scores of journalists have faced beatings, detentions, imprisonment, and torture, and numerous outlets have ceased broadcasting and publishing.
Currently, media outlets in Afghanistan are not allowed to broadcast entertainment programs, including music, news, and any content the Taliban deems to conflict with the group’s ideology.
