Kabul, April 30, 2013
After reporting repeated violence against reporters, Afghan ministry of interior affairs announced establishing a special commission to observer the violations against reporters.
The interior ministry spokesperson, Ghulam Siddiq Siddiquee said on Monday, April 29, 2013 in a press conference in Kabul that the interior minister has seriously condemned the violations against reporters and has ordered that a unit or a special commission should be established in the ministry.
He said, “With the establishment of this unit, all incidents related to violence against reporters will be observed seriously.”
Mr. Siddiquee added that, this week, the interior minister is planning to send out an order to all provincial police commissioners to establish close relationship with media.
Based on the information of interior ministry spokesperson, in line with the order of the interior minister, the method and way of reporters’ protection by the police at provincial level will be declared, and the police will be obliged to act up on it.
The new promise of observing and inquiring the violations against reporters come at such a time that in the past two weeks, at least nine incidents of violence against reporters and media personnel have been reported in Takhar, Herat and Farah provinces. Most of these violations have been done by the police.
The recent incident took place on Monday, April 22 when the head of information department of directorate of information and culture of Heart province and the presenter of private radio Muzhda was shot and injured in Herat city. The Taliban took the responsibility of this attack.
Two days before this incident on April 20, in Taliqan city, Mr. Naseer Sadiq the reporter of “Yak” private television was humiliated and his car window was broken by one police soldier, while he was preparing a report.
Before that, on April 17 and 18 the founder of Kokcha private radio, Mr. Abdul Malik Khurasani was injured in Jurm district of Badakhshan province. Editor in Chief of Saam publication of Chighchiran city, Mr. Nadeem Ghori, and news reporter of private Tolo TV, Abdul Wali Arian was threatened to death for broadcasting a news report. On the same day, the Taban television reporter Said Sharif Aseel and the station manager Aziz Ahmad Sadiqi was beaten and humiliated by the police in Herat province.
In the mid night of April 13, the manager of Asia private television in Herat, Mr. Nazeer Ahmad Raha was seriously beaten by unknown people. Hours before this incident, the reporter of a local television in Farah, Mr. Ibrahim Mohammadi was threatened to death by unknown people.
Afghanistan Journalists Center expresses serious concerns about the increase of such incidents of violations against reporters in a critical time that the process of voters registration for the presidential and local council elections are months away. The AFJC request the interior ministry to ensure the freedom of media activities by ensuring the security and supporting the reporters’ rights by holding the violators accountable for their acts.