Taliban intelligence agents detain culture journalist Sayed Rahim Saeedi

New York, July 22, 2024—Afghan authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalist Sayed Rahim Saeedi, who was detained by the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence agents in the capital Kabul on July 14, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday.

Saeedi, an editor and producer with ANAR Media YouTube channel, was detained along with Sayed Waris Saeedi, a reporter at the outlet who is also his son, and cameraperson Hasib, who only goes by one name, according to the elder Saeedi’s former colleague Khushal Asefi who spoke with CPJ from exile.

Hasib and the younger Saeedi were released after two days but Saeedi remains in detention for unknown reasons in an unknown location. ANAR Media reports on culture, travel, religion, and social issues.

“Taliban intelligence officials must free Sayed Rahim Saeedi and cease their brutal crackdown on journalists in Afghanistan,” said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi. “The media has been decimated since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, forcing journalists to work in a climate of fear and robbing the Afghan people of the right to access information. This harassment must stop.”

Restrictions on Afghan media are intensifying, according to the exiled Afghanistan Journalists Center watchdog group, which recorded 89 media freedom violations since the start of 2024.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid did not respond to CPJ’s request for comment via messaging app.