The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins
its affiliate, the Afghan Independent Journalists’ Association (AIJA), in
condemning a brutal attack on senior journalist Abdul Razaq Mamoon on the
evening of January 18.
Reports
from the AIJA indicate that Mamoon was entering his home in the Microrayon-3
area of Kabul when
he was attacked by a lone assailant who sprayed acid on his face and fled. Police
reportedly found knives and other lethal weapons left by the attacker as he
fled.
Mamoon was
hospitalised with serious burn injuries to his face, though his vision and
other vital functions are unimpaired.
“The IFJ
condemns this vicious attack and joins the AIJA in demanding an open inquiry to
immediately bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice,” IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said.
Mamoon,
formerly a well-known news anchor on Afghan television, is a regular political
analyst on talk shows and the founder and director of the recently established
news agency Bost-e-Bastan. A book that he published recently brings together
the results of a number of journalistic investigations that he has conducted on
neighbouring Iran’s role in
destabilising Afghanistan.
He reportedly claimed in an interview with a private Afghan TV network that Iran is
involved in the attack on him.
AIJA
president Rahimullah Samander
expressed shock and sadness at the attack, which he said “shows that Afghan
journalists and media workers are in extreme danger as they pursue their duty
to report impartially and in the public interest.”
For further
information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific
on +612 9333 0919
The IFJ
represents more than 600,000 journalists in 125 countries
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