Taliban Intelligence Raid Moby Group Offices After TOLOnews Journalists Arrested

Taliban intelligence agents raided the offices of Moby Group, the parent company of TOLOnews, after the detention of two TOLOnews journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). In a statement issued on Tuesday, May 12, the CPJ said dozens of Taliban intelligence personnel entered the company’s offices following the arrests of Mansour Niazi and Imran Danish, journalists with TOLOnews. The organization said armed Taliban agents confiscated employees’ phones, interrogated staff for several hours, and placed employees under surveillance. Kunal Majumder, CPJ’s Asia-Pacific program coordinator, said the arrests of the two journalists, followed by a large-scale raid on an independent media organization, reflected the climate of fear and pressure facing journalists in Afghanistan. He said Taliban authorities should release the journalists unconditionally and allow media outlets to operate without interference. The CPJ also said that after the arrest of Mansour Niazi, Taliban intelligence agents took control of his social media accounts and posted messages suggesting he was at home, a move the organization said had raised concerns about coercion and intimidation. The organization added that Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy Taliban spokesman, did not respond to the CPJ’s request for comment regarding the arrests. In recent days, the Taliban also detained Javid Niazi, managing editor of the Peygard News Agency, in Kabul. Taliban authorities have not officially confirmed the arrests of the journalists, and their whereabouts remain unknown