Afghanistan: 22 cases of violence against journalists recorded in past month under Taliban

Kabul [Afghanistan], March 31 (ANI): In the past one month, at least 22 cases of violence against journalists were recorded under the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
The information on mistreatment of media was shared by the Afghanistan Federation of Journalists and Media (AFJM) on Wednesday, reported Tolo News.
Speaking at a press conference in Kabul, AFJM member Ali Azghar Akbarzada expressed concern over the status of the media in Afghanistan and said that within the same period eight media organizations have halted operations due to economic challenges.
"There have been 22 cases of violence against journalists in March. One case is the insulting of journalists. The rest of the cases include short term detentions," he said.
However, the Taliban, said the recent detention of some Afghan journalists was due to misunderstandings, reported Tolo News.
"If some conduct included physical or verbal disputes, it has several sides. Or it could be due to a misunderstanding," said Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate.
Meanwhile, the Free Speech Hub, a media watchdog, in a statement also voiced concerns over the recent detention of journalists as well as the imposition of restrictions on the freedom of expression.
Taliban have intensified attacks on media as the journalist in the country said that it's hard to report from Afghanistan anymore, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Wednesday.
"It's so hard to report from Afghanistan anymore," a journalist in the eastern province of Nangarhar said. "Anything can happen, you could be arrested, beaten, tortured or even killed, just for a report or a program," said Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch. (ANI)