Afghan Biographies

Afghan Journalist Federation (AJF)


Name Afghan Journalist Federation (AJF)
Ethnic backgr.
Date of birth
Function/Grade Background and Names
History and Biodata

Background:
AJF is a joint platform established by major journalist's organizations in Afghanistan. It has 13 member organizations. It is not a registered legal entity with the Afghan government but merely a collectively representative body. AJF holds monthly meetings were urgent issues are discussed to the take colective actions. 
 

On Wednesday, January 27, 2022 about 60 armed members of the Taliban-controlled Kabul police and the General Directorate of Intelligence, the Taliban’s intelligence agency, blocked a planned press conference by the Afghanistan Journalists Federation in the capital’s District 4, according to news reports, a report by the local press freedom group Free Speech Hub, and Sayed Ali Asghar Akbarzadeh, a member of the federation’s leadership committee.

The Afghanistan Journalists Federation had scheduled a conference by 11 of its representatives at a home office in Kabul to discuss the media’s status under the Taliban, according to Akbarzadeh. Before the conference could begin, dozens of armed men entered the home where the conference was to be held, identified themselves as members of the police and the GDI, and initially said they were there to ensure security for the conference. One of the armed men then questioned attendees on their motives for the press conference, and threatened retaliation if such events were held without Taliban permission, Akbarzadeh said.

Another of the men, who did not give his name or position, then ordered the conference be cancelled, according to a journalist who was at the scene. The journalist said they believed the man was a member of the GDI.

The police and intelligence agents briefly detained three journalists who planned to cover the conference, according to Free Speech Hub, which identified those reporters as Masoor Lutfi, Fardin Attai, and Zarif Karimi. CPJ was unable to immediately determine those journalists’ affiliated outlets.

The police and GDI agents briefly held the three journalists in GDI vehicles at the scene, and then released them without charge, according to Free Speech Hub.

Ahmadullah Wasiq, a Taliban deputy spokesperson in Afghanistan, did not respond to CPJ’s request for comment sent via messaging app.

 

Last Modified 2022-01-28
Established 2022-01-28