Journalist detained for three days in Afghanistan

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate Afghan Independent Journalists Association (AIJA) in expressing serious concerns over detentions of a journalist by the security agencies in Afghanistan. The IFJ and the AIJA call on the Afghan government to explain the detention of the journalist.Naimatullah Karyab, a local correspondent of BBC and AIJA provincial head for Kunar province was arrested by the US force in Jalalabad province on May 28 and handed over to the National Security Agency. During the detention, he was searched, and his communication equipment was seized. He was released after three days with security forces claiming that he was confused for another person with same surname.Samandar Khan, AIJA president, said: “We are witnessing that Afghan government is arresting journalists for small reason while not dealing with the security threats issued to the journalists. We request the national unity government to implement commitment for freedom of press and safety of journalists into practice.”The IFJ said: “The detention of journalist Naimatullah Karyab without valid reasons is a press freedom violation that weakens the Afghan media’s ability to report free and fair in fearless manner. The IFJ expresses serious concern over the detention and urge the Afghan government to provide an explanation for the incident.”

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