August 13, 2026
Kabul — Hamid Farhadi, a reporter for Etilaat-e Roz newspaper was released from Bagram prison after serving a two-year prison sentence imposed in retaliation for his journalism, the Afghanistan Journalists Center welcomes Farhadi’s release, but condemns his detention as unlawful from the outset. He was denied a fair trial and legal counsel, and imprisoned solely for independent reporting on issues of public interest.
According to an informed source who spoke to AFJC today, Farhadi has returned to his family in Kabul. The de facto ministry of interior detained Farhadi at his home in Kabul on September 3, 2024. On September 20, the de facto primary court of the fourth Judicial district in Kabul sentenced him to two years in prison on charges of “propaganda against the Taliban de facto” and “collaborating with the exiled newspaper Etilaat-e Roz ”
Court documents share with AFJC stated that Farhadi, along with another Etilaat-e Roz employee who remains under investigation, interviewed people about girls’ schools, refugees, and women’s conditions, and filed reports to the newspaper. The Taliban de facto authorities classify any reporting on their policies — including the ban on girls’ higher education and the dismissal of women from government posts — as “propaganda,” and punish it severely. Farhadi spent two years in Pul-e-Charkhi and Bagram prisons.
“The imprisonment of Hamid Farhadi is a clear case of retaliation for independent reporting,” said AFJC. “Charging journalists with propaganda for covering girls’ education and other public interest issues violates international law. No journalist should be jailed for telling the truth.”
AFJC calls on the Taliban de facto authorities to immediately release all journalists and media workers still detained, including at least one journalist and one media manager currently held in Bagram prison and the de facto General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI). Journalists must be allowed to work freely, without threats, arrest, or censorship.