Amnesty Condemns Taliban’s Forced Confession of Journalist Mehdi Ansari as ‘Shameful’ Tactic
Amnesty International has sharply condemned the Taliban’s “shameful smear campaign” against Afghan journalist Mehdi Ansari, emphasizing that the publication of his forced confession is a repetitive method used by autocratic regimes.
The organization labeled the Taliban’s trial of Ansari, a Shia reporter for the Afghan News Agency, as a “show trial and profoundly unjust.” Amnesty is demanding an end to the deliberate campaign to discredit him.
According to Radio France, the Taliban released a video of Ansari’s forced confession following months of detention, sparking widespread international backlash.
Amnesty International asserted that over the past four years, the Taliban’s judicial system has been weaponized to suppress all criticism and opposition to the group’s strict rulings, policies, and actions. The organization stressed that the Taliban has used arbitrary arrests, illegal imprisonment, enforced disappearances, and forced confessions to silence critics, including journalists and human rights activists.
The International Federation of Journalists has also condemned Ansari’s prison sentence and called for his immediate release.
Human rights experts note that the use of forced confessions is a tired and recurring method utilized by autocratic governments, past and present, to control and delegitimize opponents. Such confessions are typically retracted later by the individual and hold no legal value.
Amnesty concluded that no journalist should be imprisoned for their professional work and insisted that Mehdi Ansari must be released immediately and unconditionally. Furthermore, the Taliban must adhere to international standards for detaining prisoners, ensuring access to proper healthcare, legal counsel, and family visits. Experts warn that the repetition of such acts not only restricts media freedom but also erodes public trust in the governing system, increasing the risk of social unrest.
