Relentless Crackdown on Journalists in Afghanistan: Taliban Using Forced Confessions and Mass Arrests
Relentless Crackdown on Journalists in Afghanistan: Taliban Using Forced Confessions and Mass Arrests
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Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has warned that the Taliban are carrying out a new campaign of repression against the media in Afghanistan, using arbitrary arrests and forced confessions to intimidate journalists and restrict press freedom.
Videos of these coerced confessions have circulated on social media, showing the extent of pressure and censorship facing Afghan journalists under Taliban rule.
In its latest report, RSF said the Taliban are forcing journalists to make public confessions to legitimize their arrests and to humiliate them publicly. These videos are then disseminated through Taliban-controlled social media accounts.
According to Radio France Internationale (RFI), Célia Mercier, head of RSF’s South Asia desk, stated that “the Taliban are using fear and intimidation as systematic tools of repression.”
The report cited the case of Mehdi Ansari, a journalist whose forced confession video was posted on a Taliban intelligence-linked Facebook page last month, accusing him of “spreading poisonous propaganda” and collaborating with exiled media outlets.
RSF also noted similar cases involving Abuzar Sarim Sarpuli, head of Tawan News Agency, and Shakib Ahmad Nazari, a reporter for Japan’s NTV, both of whom were detained and forced to confess to “working with foreign media.”
Meanwhile, Bashir Hatif, a journalist for Zhwandun TV, was also arrested and remains in detention.
RSF added that nationwide internet shutdowns and restrictions on public access to information have become additional tools in the Taliban’s effort to silence independent reporting.
Afghanistan now ranks 175th out of 180 countries on the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, reflecting the severe deterioration of media freedom since the Taliban’s return to power.
Experts warn that the ongoing repression shows the Taliban’s intent to eliminate independent journalism and suppress public awareness across the country.
