Taliban forces have detained three employees of Radio Naseem in central Daikundi province and sealed its office closed, according to two local sources.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Rukhshana Media the radio employees were handcuffed and taken away on Wednesday. They include radio chief Sultan Ali Jawadi and two reporters Saifullah Rezayi and Mujtaba Qasemi.
According to the source, they were detained on charges of “propagating against” the Taliban.
The employees were released after five hours in detention and violent beatings after giving a guarantee that they would not continue to speak against the Taliban. However, their cellphones were not returned to them and have been handed to the Taliban’s intelligence department, according to the source.
The source said that Taliban’s provincial administration forced a commitment from the employees of the radio station that whenever they are summoned, they must appear immediately.
Naseem Radio station was mostly active in the field of health and environment in Daikundi province and had recently published several reports about the situation of women in the province. It’s believed this is the reason its employees were detained, the source said.
According to the source, the three men were also forced to commit to not speak to external media or reporters.
The broadcast of the radio station has been suspended until further notice.
After regaining control of Afghanistan, the Taliban have severely limited media publications and have detained, tortured, and imprisoned many journalists in the country.