The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees announced on Friday that two foreign journalists working for it as part of a mission in Afghanistan were released after they were arrested in Kabul.
“We can confirm that in Kabul the two journalists who are on a mission with the UNHCR and the Afghans working with them were released,” UNHCR said in a statement from Geneva.
She expressed her “satisfaction” with their release, without specifying the length of their detention.
“We are grateful to everyone who has expressed concern and offered assistance. We remain committed to the Afghan people,” UNHCR added.
For his part, the spokesman for the Taliban government, Zabihullah Mujahid al-Jumaa, said that the issue had found its way to a solution.
He explained that “the two foreign nationals, who identified themselves as belonging to an international organization, were detained for not having identification cards, licenses or the necessary documents.”
“They were in good condition and in contact with their families. After they were identified, they were released,” Mujahid added on Twitter.
The arrest of the journalists came about six months after the Taliban movement took control of the country in parallel with the withdrawal of US forces.
The UN agency had earlier written on Twitter, “Two journalists on assignment with UNHCR, and two Afghan nationals working with them, were arrested in Kabul.”
“We are doing everything in our power to solve this problem in coordination with other parties,” she added, but did not reveal additional details “given the nature of the situation.”
One of the journalists is former BBC correspondent Andrew North, who covered the war in Afghanistan two decades ago and travels regularly to the country.
“Andrew was in Kabul working for UNHCR and trying to help the people of Afghanistan,” his wife, Natalia Antilava, wrote on Twitter.
“We are very concerned for his safety and call on anyone with influence to help secure his release,” she said before announcing his release.
British visit
The arrest came at a time when the international community made respect for human rights, particularly women’s rights, a precondition for a possible resumption of international aid, which represented about 75 percent of Afghanistan’s budget.
Without this funding, and with $9.5 billion in Afghan assets frozen abroad, the country has plunged into a deep humanitarian crisis. More than half of the 38 million Afghans are now threatened with starvation, according to the United Nations.
The arrest also came the day after a British delegation visited Kabul. On Thursday, the head of the British mission in Afghanistan, Hugo Shorter, who is currently residing in Qatar, met the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amir Khan Muttaki.
The meeting was an opportunity to discuss the humanitarian crisis and human rights issue with Taliban leaders, Schurter said.
No country has yet officially recognized the Taliban government.
For their part, Taliban leaders believe they gained legitimacy after engaging in discussions with several Western diplomats in Norway in January.
This week, the Taliban delegation also met with Swiss diplomats and representatives of humanitarian organizations in Geneva.
respression
In a statement to AFP, the Committee to Protect Journalists considered the detention of foreign journalists “an unfortunate reflection of the general decline in press freedom and the increasing attacks on journalists under the Taliban regime.”
Since their return to power, the Taliban have dispersed most of the opposition demonstrations, arrested some voices critical of their regime, and beat and arrested many journalists.
The local press is the most affected by this repression. Since August, the police and intelligence services have interrogated or arrested more than 50 Afghan media professionals, according to a report published by Reporters Without Borders in early February.
According to the NGO, these violent arrests lasted from a few hours to about a week.
Afghanistan has long been one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists, with many media workers, including women, killed in targeted assassinations attributed to the Taliban in the months leading up to their blitzkrieg to regain power in the country.
Also, since the beginning of the year, four feminist activists have disappeared in Kabul after participating in demonstrations against the regime, which raised the concern of the international community. The Taliban deny any involvement in their disappearance and say they have opened an investigation.
Two Afghan journalists from Ariana TV were released in early February, two days after their arrest in the Afghan capital.