“Media professionals around the globe face mounting perils in their pursuit of truth,” Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in his 2025 statement. “Some are even killed. When journalists are silenced, we all lose our voice.”
Guterres highlighted that nearly 90 percent of journalist killings remain unresolved globally and singled out Gaza as the deadliest location for journalists in any ongoing conflict. He urged independent investigations, justice for victims, and stronger protections for reporters, especially women, who face increasing threats both online and offline.
While the warning was global in scope, few countries illustrate the dangers facing journalists more starkly than Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, Afghan journalists have faced escalating violence, censorship, and intimidation. According to the Afghan Journalists Safety Committee, at least 539 incidents of violence against journalists have been recorded over the past four years. These include physical assaults, threats, arbitrary detentions, and forced confessions broadcast by state-aligned media.
In the most recent case, Sayed Rashid Kashifi, a journalist arrested by Taliban intelligence forces in March 2025, was released this week after nearly seven months in custody. He had previously been detained and reportedly beaten in 2021. At least seven journalists remain in Taliban prisons, with some accused of collaborating with foreign outlets or violating Taliban-imposed codes of conduct.
The Taliban has denied systematic repression, but watchdog groups and U.N. officials say the evidence tells a different story.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has raised alarm over mounting restrictions on the flow of information. In a recent report, it criticized provisions of the Taliban’s morality law — including a ban on live images of animals — as vague tools for silencing the press.
“Public discourse is disappearing,” the report stated. “People are losing access to even basic information about their society.”
International advocacy group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has consistently ranked Afghanistan near the bottom of its annual press freedom index — placing the country 178th out of 180 nations in 2024.
“Since the Taliban returned to power, censorship has tightened, newsrooms have closed, and women journalists have disappeared from public life,” RSF said in its most recent report. Twelve media outlets were shut down in 2024 alone, and many more operate under threat of closure or reprisal.
RSF has also condemned the Taliban’s practice of broadcasting coerced “confession” videos of detained journalists — a tactic it says is designed to instill fear and suppress independent reporting.
In his global message, Guterres called impunity for crimes against journalists “an assault on press freedom, an invitation to further violence, and a threat to democracy itself.”
He urged all governments to investigate every case, prosecute every perpetrator, and ensure journalists can report freely, without fear. But in Afghanistan, such protections remain out of reach.
For Afghan journalists, particularly women, the message from global leaders is welcome — but increasingly distant.
