One of Afghanistan’s best-known TV presenters is being held by the Taliban, apparently for reporting that the authorities had banned the airing of foreign drama series, his employer, the independent TV channel TOLOnews, confirmed on Friday.
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Presenter Bahram Aman was arrested Thursday evening at the offices of TOLOnews, along with news director Khpalwak Sapai and legal adviser Nafi Khaleeq, the main Afghan independent channel said in a statement, adding that that the latter two had been quickly released.
“The three were arrested for relaying information that authorities had banned TV stations from airing foreign drama series,” she explained.
A member of Mr. Aman’s family told AFP, on condition of anonymity, that she was “worried”. The Taliban “had already threatened him” in the past, he said.
The Taliban Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice in November banned the broadcast of television series featuring women, unless they promote an Islamic theme.
But this directive was variously implemented and the Islamists now seem to want to apply it more strictly, as TOLOnews reported.
The reports of the arrest of the three men had prompted a prompt reaction overnight from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Manua).
The UN calls for “the release of all those taken away by the armed men and the cessation of intimidation and threats against journalists and independent media”, she said on Twitter.
Under their previous regime, between 1996 and 2001, the Taliban had banned television, cinema and all forms of entertainment, deemed immoral.
Despite their promises to be more moderate this time, the Islamists have since August arrested journalists, voices critical of the regime and feminist activists who demanded the right to work or education.