Afghanistan: journalist sentenced to prison under Taliban regime
NUJ joins calls for the release of Khalid Qaderi tried in a military court over Facebook posts.
The NUJ has joined the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in urging the Taliban to cease its targeting and persecution of journalists in the country.
Khalid Qaderi, a reporter for Radio Nawruz has been sentenced to one year in prison following his posts on social media the Taliban state criticise their regime. In the first reported case of its kind by the military court since the Taliban gained control last year, Qaderi has been found guilty of conducting “espionage for foreign media” despite deleting the posts in question. It is reported he had no defence lawyer and has been forced to agree not to appeal the verdict.
The IFJ said:
“Under Taliban rule, Afghan journalists have continued to face draconian restrictions, threats to freedom and arbitrary arrests. The IFJ condemns the arrest, trial and sentencing of Khaled Qaderi by the Taliban’s military court and calls for his immediate release from prison.”
The NUJ has condemned the treatment of journalists in Afghanistan, with restrictions on media reporting enforced by the Taliban. Last month, the regime’s crackdown on foreign news organisations led to the suspension of several news channels including some BBC bulletins.