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Right: Ghulam Mohyeddin Sahibzada and Jihadmal Habibi
December 15, 2025
Kabul — The Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) welcomes the release of Ghulam Mohyeddin Sahibzada, head of Rasa TV, and Jihadmal Habibi, a reporter for the same outlet, following ten months of detention. However, we strongly condemn the continued closure of Rasa TV and the ongoing suppression of independent media in Afghanistan.
Sources close to the situation confirm that both journalists were transferred from Bagram Prison in Parwan Province to a detention facility operated by the General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) in Kabul prior to their release. They were released around 4 p.m. local time today.
Despite their release, Rasa TV remains closed, and the station has yet to be permitted to resume its operations. The GDI authorities confiscated equipment belonging to Rasa TV and shuttered its offices—acts that represent a blatant attack on press freedom.
On March 24, 2025, the Second District Court of Kabul sentenced Sahibzada and Habibi to ten months in prison on charges of “propaganda against the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban government),” a charge that underscores the criminalization of journalistic work. Notably, their trial was conducted without legal representation, raising serious concerns about the fairness of proceedings and the misuse of judicial mechanisms to silence the journalists.
Founded in Kabul in 2019, Rasa TV is known for producing social and daily reports and rebroadcasting foreign documentaries on topics such as climate and wildlife.
AFJC urges the de facto authorities to immediately lift restrictions on Rasa TV, allow it to resume broadcasting without interference, and enable its staff to operate freely and safely. We call on the authorities to respect international standards of press freedom and to uphold journalists’ rights to work without fear of detention, prosecution, or censorship.
Currently, at least five journalists and media activists are detained across Afghanistan—some serving prison sentences—highlighting the ongoing crackdown on independent journalism.