Afghan Journalists ‘Absolutely Petrified’ Amid Taliban Takeover

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The Committee to Protect Journalists has warned that Afghan journalists face extreme dangers amid the Taliban takeover. Activists took control of the presidential palace in Kabul on Sunday after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.
Suspected Taliban fighters killed an Afghan radio station manager in Kabul last week, according to Reuters, heightening fear among journalists in the community.

Afghan journalists, especially women, are “absolutely petrified,” CNN chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward told CNN chief media correspondent Brian Stelter on Sunday in “Trusted Sources.” “They have been doing bold and amazing reporting for many years, and now there is a very real fear that they will be retaliated against for it or that they will certainly not be able to do their jobs anymore.”

At least three Afghan women journalists have been murdered this year, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), while another was shot dead by an armed man in December 2020.

“RSF is very concerned that the withdrawal of troops will create an information vacuum and that the space for journalism will shrink or disappear altogether,” RSF Secretary General Christophe Deloire said last month. “It is absolutely clear that there will be no lasting peace in Afghanistan without a determined commitment to the protection of journalists and press freedom on the part of the authorities.

Many independent newsrooms in Afghanistan are “pretty squatting right now,” Ward said, adding that “there is real concern that things could get chaotic on the streets.”

Although “it makes no sense at this time that Western journalists are being targeted,” Ward said his CNN crew had moved the live filming location indoors to avoid “potentially attracting a lot of attention”.

Last month the Danish Siddiqui, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Reuters has been killed in clashes near Kandahar, Afghanistan. Siddiqui was the chief photographer for the Mumbai-based India News Agency.

Concerns remain high that local journalists will be the target of reprisals from insurgents. “Some of these journalists and reporters know they have a big X on their back (…) because they have been so outspoken against the Taliban,” Ward said.

CNN crews in Afghanistan are “exceptionally cautious,” Ward said, and will leave if necessary. But “For so many Afghans, this is just not an option. They are here, they have to stay, they have to live with the consequences of this next chapter.”

– Diksha Madhok contributed to this report.

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