Journalism is not a crime: “We are unaware of my brother’s physical and mental condition.”

Bayan News – Family members of Haseb Hasas, a Salam Watandar radio journalist, say that he has been in the custody of intelligence services for the past four days, and they have no information about his physical and mental well-being.

Hakim Hasas, the brother of Haseb, stated that in the past four days, he has made numerous efforts to secure his brother’s release, but despite promises from central government

authorities, he is still being held in detention.

He added, “During these few days, we have been unaware of his physical and mental condition, and we do not know how he is being treated and where he is breathing.”

Hakim further mentioned that security forces are not allowing any communication or visitation.

Meanwhile, the intelligence services of the Kabul interim government have detained four local journalists in the provinces of Nangarhar, Paktia, and Kunduz.

Local government officials in these provinces have not yet clarified the reasons for the arrest of these journalists.

Simultaneously, the Committee to Protect Journalists has urged the Islamic Emirate to halt the campaign of media intimidation and honor its promise to support journalists.

Bilal Yee, the Asia coordinator of the committee, stated on Monday (August 14th) that Afghanistan is facing one of the most critical humanitarian crises, and the intensified suppression of the media further isolates the country.

The coordinator of the Committee to Protect Journalists reiterated that access to reliable and credible information can help save lives and livelihoods during a crisis, but the increasing Taliban repression goes against that.

It should be noted that several media organizations have expressed concern over the detention of journalists and have called for the release of detained journalists involved in journalistic activities and for their cases to be addressed through the media regulatory commission.