Afghanistan: Detention, criminalisation and torture of activists continue as the UN Human Rights Council reviews its record

Civic space in Afghanistan remans rated as ‘closed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor. Since the Taliban takeover, civil society has faced severe restrictions. Activists have been arbitrarily arrested and detained for their criticism of the Taliban. Others have faced harassment, intimidation and violence and some have been killed. The Taliban have also raided media offices and detained journalists. Some have been tortured and ill-treated.

The de facto authorities notably refused to attend a meeting of Special Envoys and Special Representatives on Afghanistan convened by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in Qatar on 18-19 February 2024. The meeting was held to ‘discuss how to approach increasing international engagement in a more coherent, coordinated and structured manner, including through consideration of the recommendations of the independent assessment of November 2023 on Afghanistan.’ The Taliban declined the UN’s invitation after their conditions for attending were rejected by Guterres; he was quoted as stating that the Taliban would only attend if representatives of Afghan civil society were not present, as well as other conditions that ‘demanded a treatment that, to a large extent, would be similar to recognition.’

Against this backdrop, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett has been vocal in raising his concerns about the danger of moves towards ‘normalisation’ without a reduction in restrictions on civic space or a changed approach to women’s rights. While addressing the UN Human Rights Council on 29th February 2024, Bennett stressed that ‘it is vital that the international community is steadfast that normalisation will require significant improvements in human rights, including the situation of women and girls. To do otherwise would send a concerning message about their commitment to women everywhere.’

During the session Bennett presented the findings of his most recent report, which detailed, among other things, how ‘the fear of arbitrary arrest and, in some cases, enforced disappearance by the Taliban has further restricted what remains of Afghanistan’s rapidly diminishing civic space’. The report, covering incidents between September 2023 to January 2024, discusses ‘dozens of arrests of human rights defenders, civil society members and journalists, an increase in comparison with the first nine months of 2023.’

On 20th February 2024, UN experts and others labeled Taliban policies as tantamount to gender apartheid, which they asked to be recognised as a crime against humanity.

On 14th March 2024, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on human rights in Afghanistan, raising concerns about the humanitarian and human rights crisis in the country. They called on the Taliban to immediately restore the full and equal participation of women and girls in public life, particularly access to education and work, and supports Afghan civil society’s call to hold the de-facto authorities accountable for their crimes, particularly via the International Criminal Court investigation by establishing a UN Independent Investigative Mechanism and by expanding EU restrictive measures.

On 15th March 2024, the UN Security Council (UNSC) extended the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) for one year. The UN is also working on appointing a Special Envoy as required by UNSC Resolution 2721 of 29th December 2023; the resolution, which was passed with 13 votes in favour and 2 abstentions (by China and Russia), called for the appointment of an envoy with ‘robust expertise on human rights and gender’. Taliban officials have rejected the appointment of such an envoy.

On 29th April 2024, the human rights record of Afghanistan was examined by the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR). States made 243 recommendations including to release and cease arbitrary arrests and detentions of civil society members immediately for exercising their freedom of expression, including by expressing criticism, and for engaging in peaceful protest, including human rights defenders and journalists.

In recent months, human rights defenders, in particular women activists, have been detained, convicted and sentenced. There also continues to be reports of torture and ill-treatment of women human rights defenders and challenges for civil society organisations to operate. There are also ongoing media restrictions and targeting of journalists, while severe punishment by the Taliban has deterred outdoor protests.

Association

Dozens of members of civil society have been held in detention since the Taliban takeover, as previously documented. Relatives of these detainees are often unable to find out which de facto institution is holding them, where they are being detained or what legal processes if any are ongoing against them. There do not appear to be centralised rules or systems for investigating or prosecuting cases, with the court system resembling the informal Taliban courts that were operational in many parts of Afghanistan during the insurgency. This leaves the current system wide open to politicisation, corruption and abuses.

Conviction of woman human rights defender

Woman human rights defender (WHRD) Manizha Siddiqi of the Spontaneous Movement of Afghan Women was reportedly sentenced to two years in prison in February 2024, allegedly for her involvement in protests.

She had been detained on 24th September 2023, kept in a detention centre run by the intelligence agency (which the de facto authorities refer to as the General Directorate of Intelligence or GDI) and then moved to Pul-e Charki prison in early December 2023.

According to Amnesty International, Siddiqi did not have access to a defence lawyer or regular family visits and was subject to torture and ill-treatment.

Siddiqi was released on 7th April 2024 as part of a mass prisoner release ordered by Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada to mark the festival of Eid al-Fitr which takes place at the end of Ramadan. Two days before her release she appeared on television, stating in a confession - believed to be coerced by the Taliban - that she had been well treated while in detention.

Academic sentenced for his support for women’s rights

University professor Mohammad Atef Daie was reportedly sentenced on 29th February 2024 to one year in prison by a Taliban military court in Kabul. According to local media reports, he was convicted on charges related to utility bills, but civil society groups suspect his detention was punishment for his support for women’s rights and criticism of the Taliban’s policies on social media. He had also been living with his family in a house belonging to a member of the previous government who is a vocal Taliban critic.

According to 8AM Media, Aatef has been denied legal representation by the Taliban, and his family is permitted only brief “window visits” lasting ten minutes every two weeks at Pol-e-Charkhi prison.

Education rights activists sentenced

On 1st April 2024, Afghan human rights defender Ahmad Fahim Azimi was sentenced to one year of imprisonment by the Taliban court in Kabul.

As previously documented, education activist Fahim Azimi, the manager of the national robotic team, was arrested on 17th October 2023 with his colleague Sediqullah Afghan. Their office in the Kart-e Char district of the capital Kabul was reportedly raided by soldiers from the de facto intelligence agency who took away computers, phones and documents.

According to Amnesty International, both activists were kept by the General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) District 40 for interrogation. They were falsely accused of assisting girls from the national robotic team to leave the country, inciting women protestors, and organising protests. Both the activists and their families refuted these allegations.

Reports on 9th April 2024 indicated that Sadiqullah Afghan had been released as part of the amnesty to mark the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr. He had been detained for more than five and a half months.

Three women activists detained by the Taliban

Women’s human rights defenders have responded to the clampdown on civic space and the ban on women’s rights organisations by organising small scale actions such as posting photos of indoor rallies inside people’s homes. However, even these small indoor activities in private spaces have resulted in retaliation from the authorities.

In a recent case, three women's rights activists - Azada Rezaei, Nadia Rezaei and Elaha Rezaei - and their brother were detained on 27th March 2024 after Taliban raided their home in the Dasht-e Barchi district of Kabul. Two of the sisters are minors,

According to FORUM-ASIA, the Rezaei sisters are members of the Afghan Women’s Justice Movement, a women-led initiative that fearlessly challenges the Taliban’s discriminatory policies. They belong to the Shia Hazara community, a persecuted ethnic and religious minority in Afghanistan.

Relatives approached police and the Ministry of Interior to find out where the siblings were being held but the officials didn’t know where the girls and their brother were. Local reports say they have since been released but it is unclear how long they were held for. Their older sister Tamana had recently been detained for 29 days.

Torture and ill-treatment of women human rights defenders

Testimony from women human rights defenders (WHRD) who were previously detained illustrates the extent of torture and ill-treatment women face in Taliban detention centres – particularly those run by the intelligence agency.

Zarifa Yaqubi, a WHRD who was detained for 41 days in 2023 recently provided detailed testimony about her time in detention. She described being detained after Taliban officials surrounded a building in which she had been meeting with fellow activists. While held by the de facto intelligence agency, she was beaten, whipped with cables and given electric shocks. During the torture Taliban officials tried to get a false confession from Zarifa that she was being paid by foreigners to criticise the de facto authorities.

Another WHRD, Hakima Mahdawi, described being detained at a cafe, insulted, slapped in the face, beaten and then electrocuted. During her detention Taliban officials rang Hakima’s family to demand money to secure her release. When the family was not able to gather sufficient money, the Taliban detained Hakima’s brother. Hakima was released after one day after signing a statement in Pashto which she didn’t understand. It said if she protested again she would be killed.

A 20-year-old woman who was detained initially for not wearing a burqa was severely beaten after Taliban officials found photos of women’s protests on her phone. She had not even participated in any protests but the photos had been automatically saved to her photo library after someone sent them to her via WhatsApp. She reports having been whipped, punched, hit with rifle butts and kicked in the mouth which broke her braces and caused extensive damage to her mouth. She describes a group of around ten Taliban taking turns to give her 10 lashes with a whip.

Challenges for civil society organisations to operate

The de facto authorities’ clampdown on civic space means that it is extremely difficult or impossible for civil society organisations to work openly inside Afghanistan.

The only civil society organisations that are allowed to function are those providing humanitarian assistance, but NGOs working in the humanitarian space still encounter frequent interference or obstruction from the authorities.

For example, local media in March 2024 reported that the Ministry of Economy had informed local and international NGOs that they were required to have an observer from the ministry to oversee their procurement processes. According to Abdul Latif Nazari, the deputy Minister of Economy, the move is intended to ‘improve the performance of institutions to act more transparently, and we want to have more precise and intelligent supervision, which is never interference in the affairs of the institutions’. According to the ministry, there are 2,393 NGOs, including 272 international NGOs, currently registered with them.

On 15th March 2024, the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA) - a respected NGO that has worked in Afghanistan for decades - announced the suspension of all operations inside Afghanistan due to ‘heightened pressure from the Taliban and concerns for the security of its staff’. Swedish organisations have faced increased hostility from the de facto authorities since an Iraqi refugee set fire to a Quran in Stockholm in June 2023.

Expression

Freedom of expression is severely curtailed. Media workers, commentators, university lecturers, publishers and authors have been harassed, intimidated and detained. Self censorship is now practised widely.

Ongoing media restrictions and targeting of journalists

The media is still operating in an opaque environment. It is clear that direct criticism of the de facto authorities will result in repercussions, intimidation and often detention. Media workers who remain active self-censor extensively to avoid repercussions. However, journalists are now often detained merely for reporting on local conditions.

On National Journalists Day on 17th March 2024, media workers reiterated their calls for a revised mass media law to be published so that they can have clarity on what is permitted. The mass media law that was in force during the previous government was revised by the de facto Ministry of Information and Culture and sent to Kandahar for approval in 2022, but no further developments have been reported, leaving media workers unclear about the framework in which they are required to operate.

Saifullah Karimi, a journalist working for Pajhwok news agency, was detained on 10th February 2024 and held for two days. He was reportedly summoned to the governor’s office in Samangan province and subsequently detained. The following week, Mansoor Nekmal, editor-in-chief of Khaama press, was detained for 24 hours after doing a story about Taliban officials detaining women for ‘incorrect hijab’. Nekmal was detained on 17th February 2024 in Kabul after having been summoned to the Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue.

Obaidullah Ahmadi, a freelance journalist, was detained on 24th March 2024 and remained in detention at the time of writing. His arrest is believed to be linked to his involvement in a report about a damaged bridge in Kunduz province, which was aired by the Afghan media outlets in exile. He was detained alongside three other journalists by intelligence officers at an event the media workers were covering in northern Kunduz province. All four had their telephones confiscated and inspected, but the other three were released after a few hours.

On 22nd April 2024, radio reporters Ismail Saadat, Wahidullah Masum and Ehsanullah Tasal were detained. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the provincial directorate of the Taliban-controlled Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue in eastern Khost Province summoned and detained Saadat of Naz FM Radio, Masum of Iqra FM Radio, and Tasal of Wolas Ghag. The Taliban authorities questioned the journalists regarding their broadcasting of music and talking to female callers during the holiday of Eid al-Fitr earlier in the month.

The Afghanistan Journalists Center, an organisation that monitors violations of media freedom, released a report on 17th March 2024 covering the period of March 2023 to March 2024. According to their monitoring, 59 journalists were detained during that period. All these detentions were made by intelligence officers or personnel from the Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue. In addition to the detentions, 80 media workers were also threatened.

Additional restrictions on the media announced in recent months include further dress regulations for women, a ban on showing Taliban officials on screen in Kandahar, and a ban on women or girls appearing on television or radio programmes in Khost that appeared to specifically target broadcasts of educational materials.

Journalist freed as part of mass prisoner release

Journalist Sultan Ali Jawad was reportedly released on 7th April 2024 as part of the mass prisoner release from Pul-e Charki prison.

As previously documented, the manager of the station Radio Nasim, Sultan Ali Jawadi, was summoned to court on 11th December 2023 where he was sentenced to one year in prison after being found guilty of ‘propaganda against the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’ and ‘espionage for foreign countries’. The charges are believed to relate to the fact that Radio Nasim had broadcast excerpts of programmes made by Radio Azadi (RFE/RL). Radio Nasim has also been closed down.

Previously, in October 2023, Taliban intelligence operatives took Ali Jawadi and two of Radio Nasim’s journalists in the city of Nili in central Daikundi Province and detained them in an unknown location.

Peaceful Assembly

Severe punishment by Taliban deters outdoor protests

Public rallies and demonstrations have all but been stamped out by Taliban brutality. A few small groups of women held indoor and outdoor protests to mark International Women’s Day. The lack of larger gatherings highlights the chilling effect of the Taliban’s use of violence and arbitrary detentions at rallies. The extreme violence meted out to women detained at protests or for other activism against the de facto authorities has had a strong deterrent effect, though women continue to speak up online and by sharing their testimonies with international advocacy groups and media.

A pattern of mass detentions of women and girls since late December for ‘bad hijab’ further reduces the likelihood of women holding public protests in the current environment. A campaign of arrests by the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has seen fully covered women and girls being detained for supposed infringements of the Taliban’s dress code.

Dozens have been detained and beaten, with Taliban officials demanding money from relatives to release detainees. Many women and girls have severely curtailed their movements to avoid beatings or detentions. The campaign seems to have targeted ethnic minorities, including those from the Hazara and Tajik communities.