Afghanistan: Five years after Taliban takeover, the attack on civic freedoms persists

Civic space in Afghanistan remains rated as ‘closed’. Since the Taliban seized power in August 2021, the de facto authorities continue to commit human rights violations and crimes under international law against the Afghan people, especially women and girls, with absolute impunity. Civil society activists, journalists and others face severe restrictions, and 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 activists have been tortured and ill-treated.

15th August 2026 marked five years since the Taliban returned to power. In a review of the Taliban’s five years in power, Human Rights Watch (HRW) described Afghanistan as facing one of the world’s gravest human rights crises, particularly for women and girls, and documented how journalists, activists and people perceived as critics of the Taliban had faced intimidation, arbitrary arrest, detention and torture. HRW also highlighted the severe weakening of independent media and the systematic suppression of women-led protests.

Rather than relying solely on individual acts of repression, the Taliban increasingly embedded restrictions across government institutions, the media sector, educational establishments and public spaces, further narrowing opportunities for independent civic engagement and peaceful dissent.

Against this backdrop, accountability for serious violations remained limited, although some international mechanisms had advanced. HRW highlighted the International Criminal Court’s July 2025 arrest warrants for two senior Taliban leaders on the basis of the crime against humanity of gender persecution, and the establishment in October 2025 of the UN Independent Investigative Mechanism for Afghanistan, mandated to collect, consolidate and preserve evidence of serious international crimes and prepare files to facilitate future criminal proceedings.

Against this backdrop of shrinking civic space, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2822 (2026) on 15th June 2026, extending the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) until 17th June 2027. The renewal reaffirmed UNAMA's central role in monitoring human rights, supporting humanitarian assistance and facilitating international engagement at a time when independent domestic oversight mechanisms remain virtually non-existent.

In UNAMA's human rights update covering April to June 2026, the mission documented continuing arbitrary arrests, restrictions on freedom of expression, the closure of media outlets, corporal punishment, increasing enforcement of morality policies and the continuing exclusion of women and girls from education and public life. UNAMA recorded 389 arbitrary arrests and detentions and 65 incidents of ill-treatment carried out by officials from the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.

In late June 2026, a coalition of 47 Afghan and international civil society organisations, issued a joint open letter urging the European Union and its member states to suspend cooperation with the Taliban on migration and deportation policies. The organisations warned that engaging with the Taliban on migration while widespread human rights violations continue risks conferring political legitimacy on a regime responsible for systematic repression.

They expressed particular concern over discussions relating to deportations, the transfer of Afghan diplomatic missions to Taliban-appointed representatives and the possible sharing of refugees' personal information with Taliban authorities, warning that such measures could expose journalists, women human rights defenders, activists and former government officials to renewed persecution upon return.

In recent months, cultural activists and educators were targeted and six NGO staff members were forcibly disappeared. Harassment, arrests and surveillance followed a protest crackdown in Herat as the Taliban tightened restrictions on smartphones. There have been arbitrary arrests and restrictions on journalists, and controls and crackdown on the media.

Association

Cultural activists and educators targeted

During the reporting period, Taliban authorities continued to target individuals engaged in cultural, educational and civic activities, demonstrating the increasingly broad scope of restrictions on freedom of association. Rather than focusing solely on organised political opposition, the authorities appeared to treat peaceful cultural advocacy, educational leadership and expressions of solidarity with victims of repression as activities warranting surveillance and intervention.

On 19th June 2026, Taliban intelligence forces reportedly arrested Masoud Taimur (pictured above), an Uzbek cultural activist, in Faizabad, Badakhshan Province. According to local sources, Taimur had actively promoted the cultural identity and linguistic rights of Afghanistan's Turkic communities and had publicly expressed solidarity on social media with demonstrators in Herat following the violent crackdown on protests earlier that month. Taliban authorities had neither disclosed his whereabouts nor announced any formal charges against him. His detention illustrates the increasingly limited space available for cultural advocacy and minority rights activism under Taliban rule, where peaceful expressions of ethnic identity and solidarity are increasingly treated as potential security concerns rather than legitimate civic activity.

On 6th August 2026, it was reported that Taliban intelligence forces had reportedly detained Ehsan Saadat, a young social activist, in Khost city, taking him from a private education centre. Local sources said Saadat, who reportedly supports the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), remains in custody despite assurances to his family that he would be released if his detention was not publicised. The precise reason for his detention remains unclear, although sources suggested it may be linked to Facebook posts criticising Pakistan’s policies toward Afghanistan. Saadat had reportedly been detained twice previously by Taliban intelligence forces. Taliban authorities have not publicly commented on his latest detention.

Restrictions on civic participation also extended to Afghanistan's education sector. On 22nd June 2026, Tayyeba Hafezi, head of a girls' high school in Daikundi Province, was reportedly detained after refusing to surrender her smartphone during inspections carried out under the Taliban's recently introduced smartphone restrictions. According to witnesses, Taliban personnel entered the school, confiscated teachers' mobile phones and searched classrooms while intimidating teachers and students. Several female students reportedly became distressed during the operation, while Hafezi herself was taken into custody before being released later the same day. Although the detention was brief, the incident represented one of the first reported cases in which the Taliban's smartphone policy was enforced against the leadership of an educational institution. It also demonstrated how administrative directives are increasingly being enforced through coercive measures that undermine the autonomy of educational institutions and contribute to a climate of intimidation affecting teachers and students alike.

Six NGO staff forcibly disappeared

On 13th August 2026 it was reported that the Taliban have forcibly disappeared six employees of an NGO working on women’s and children’s rights, holding them for nearly a month without disclosing their whereabouts, condition or whether they face charges.

According to Human Rights Watch, the six men are staff members of the Women and Children Legal Research Foundation, or WCLRF, an Afghan nongovernmental organisation that provides assistance and conducts research and advocacy on the rights of women and children. HRW said the men were detained in Kabul on 18th July after the Taliban instructed them to return to the organisation’s office to retrieve laptops and phones that security forces had confiscated during an earlier raid. Instead, all six were taken into custody.

Family members told Human Rights Watch that the Taliban had since provided no information about where the men were being held, their condition or the reasons for their detention.

The detentions followed a Taliban raid on the foundation’s Kabul office on 21st June 2026. The Taliban security forces searched the premises, confiscated employees’ laptops and phones and sealed the office. Staff members were subsequently questioned about their work.

Peaceful assembly

Freedom of peaceful assembly remained severely restricted, with the threat of arbitrary arrest, intimidation and the use of force leaving little space for people to publicly challenge Taliban policies. The risks were particularly acute for demonstrations concerning women's rights, where restrictions on assembly intersected with the Taliban's broader controls over women's movement, appearance and participation in public life.

Harassment, arrests and surveillance follow protest crackdown in Herat

On 28th July 2026, UNAMA published a report on the crackdown on protests in Herat on 9th June, that was previously documented.

The report found that beginning on 6th June 2026, the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice intensified enforcement of mandatory dress requirements in Herat, detaining women and girls in different parts of the city for allegedly failing to comply with the Taliban's interpretation of hijab. According to HRW, at least 30 women had been detained as of 7th June 2026 for alleged “noncompliance” with dress requirements. The arrests generated public anger and culminated in a rare demonstration on 9th June in the Jebrail area of Herat, where residents gathered to oppose the detentions and demand an end to the crackdown. Taliban security forces reportedly used live ammunition while dispersing the demonstrators, resulting in casualties. The de facto security forces shot and killed a boy, shot and beat protestors, injuring at least four, and arrested at least 17 protestors.

In the days following the protests, de facto General Directorate of Intelligence officials stopped people at random to check their mobile phones for messages or footage related to the 9th June protests. They detained and questioned individuals found with protest-related material on their phones.

A separate report found that Morteza Karimi, who was reportedly wounded by gunfire during the 9th June protest, later died from his injuries. Local sources reported that his burial took place under Taliban surveillance and that restrictions were imposed on public mourning, including preventing a public funeral procession. Taliban authorities also reportedly detained two shopkeepers in Jebrail after surveillance cameras at their businesses recorded footage related to the security forces' response to the protest.

On 17th June 2026, two girls were reportedly detained near Abdul Ali Shah Tokhi School in the Imam Fakhr Razi area of Herat for allegedly failing to comply with prescribed dress requirements

In early August 2026, women were reportedly detained in areas including Marmar Market, 64-Metre Road and Bakrabad. At least four women were reportedly detained outside Marmar Market on 3rd August 2026, while further arrests were reported the following day. In Bakrabad on 4th August 2026, at least three women were reportedly detained despite wearing what sources described as "full hijab".

On 21st August 2026 it was reported that the Taliban had released two detained UN staff members, though the reason for their detention remains unclear. The two men were detained in the western city of Herat on 9th August 2026. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said they were released on 20th August and appeared to be in good health.

Mobilisation around the anniversary of the Taliban takeover

In the lead-up to 15th August 2026, marking five years since the Taliban returned to power, Afghan women’s protest movements renewed their mobilisation through protest statements, slogans, songs, symbolic gestures and online campaigns.

Women’s groups also called for protests and solidarity actions inside and outside Afghanistan to mark the anniversary. In a number of recent protest videos and campaigns, women have raised the internationally recognised “Signal for Help” - tucking the thumb into the palm and closing the four fingers over it - as a symbolic appeal for attention to the situation facing Afghan women.

Some protesters have also used singing and protest songs as a form of resistance, continuing a method of protest Afghan women have increasingly employed under Taliban restrictions on their voices and public participation.

However, women inside Afghanistan largely conducted their protests indoors, including inside private homes and other closed spaces, often discreetly to reduce the risk of identification. Even these small-scale and concealed forms of dissent carried significant risks of surveillance, arbitrary detention and violence.

Expression

Freedom of expression remained severely restricted, as the Taliban continued to tighten control over independent journalism and access to information through censorship, arbitrary detention, restrictions on reporting and administrative interference. These measures demonstrate that pressure on the media extended beyond individual cases of journalist persecution towards a broader environment in which independent reporting increasingly carried legal, professional and personal risks.

The Taliban tighten restrictions on smartphones

The Taliban expanded restrictions on smartphone use by public officials, a measure widely criticised by press freedom organisations as a further obstacle to independent journalism and public access to information. On 17th June 2026, the Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) condemned the policy after confirming that it had already been implemented across more than twenty provinces, including Kabul, Herat, Kandahar, Balkh, Kunduz, Ghazni, Bamiyan, Panjshir and Khost. According to AFJC, the directive followed a meeting chaired by Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada in Kandahar on 7th June 2026, during which government employees and Taliban security personnel were instructed not to use smartphones, either in government offices or at home. Individuals violating the order reportedly faced disciplinary measures, including referral to military courts.

Although presented as an internal administrative measure, the directive had immediate implications for freedom of expression. Journalists in several provinces reported that government spokespersons had stopped communicating through WhatsApp, one of the principal channels used by reporters to obtain official information and verify developments. AFJC warned that the restrictions would significantly reduce transparency and further obstruct journalists' already limited access to government institutions. Reports also indicated that enforcement appeared selective, with lower-ranking officials subjected to inspections while senior Taliban figures continued using smartphones, raising questions about the policy's stated rationale and suggesting that it functions primarily as a mechanism for controlling the flow of information rather than addressing security concerns.

Restrictions on journalists

The tightening of digital restrictions formed part of a broader pattern documented by media watchdogs. In its report "Under the Shadow of Fear and Censorship", covering developments between 10th June and 10th July 2026, the Afghanistan Media Support Organisation (AMSO) concluded that Afghanistan's media sector is experiencing a "multilayered, organised and widespread crisis". According to the report, journalists continue to operate under pervasive fear of arrest, harassment and professional retaliation, while media organisations face increasing interference from multiple Taliban institutions. AMSO documented repeated inspections of media offices by officials from the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, directives prohibiting the broadcast of women's voices, pressure on male journalists to comply with Taliban appearance requirements and warnings against reporting on politically sensitive issues such as the country's deteriorating economy, rising fuel prices, internal divisions within the Taliban and security incidents. Journalists who violated these informal directives reportedly faced threats of detention, suspension or closure of their media organisations.

AMSO further observed that journalists detained by Taliban authorities were often warned not to discuss their treatment after release, contributing to an atmosphere in which fear itself has become an instrument of censorship. The organisation concluded that the combination of expanding technological restrictions, arbitrary detention, institutional interference and economic pressure has accelerated self-censorship and placed the future of Afghanistan's remaining independent media at serious risk. These findings suggest that Taliban authorities are no longer relying solely on direct censorship but are increasingly controlling the conditions under which journalism can be practised, thereby restricting freedom of expression before information even reaches the public.

The continued deterioration of Afghanistan's media environment was also highlighted internationally. Ahead of World Refugee Day on 19th June 2026, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) identified Afghanistan as the world's largest source of exiled journalists following the Taliban's return to power. Afghan journalists are now dispersed across 28 countries, illustrating the scale of professional displacement caused by continuing repression. RSF noted that the crisis remains ongoing, with 82 additional Afghan journalists forced into exile during 2025 alone. The organisation also warned that exile no longer guarantees safety, particularly for journalists residing in Pakistan, where tightening immigration policies and deportation campaigns have left many at renewed risk of return to Afghanistan. The report concluded that many Afghan journalists now face an impossible choice between abandoning their profession, leaving the country or continuing to work under constant threat of arrest and persecution.

Journalists continue to face arbitrary detention

Taliban authorities continued to arbitrarily detain journalists carrying out their professional duties, reinforcing a climate of fear that has become one of the defining characteristics of Afghanistan's media environment. Media watchdogs observed that these arrests were rarely accompanied by transparent legal procedures or clearly articulated charges. Instead, journalists were frequently detained by intelligence officials, held incommunicado, pressured to remain silent following their release and discouraged from reporting on politically or socially sensitive issues.

On 26th June 2026, the Afghanistan Media Support Organisation (AMSO) reported that Taliban authorities had temporarily detained a female journalist, a cameraman and several other media workers while they were covering Ashura commemorations in Kabul. According to AMSO, the female journalist was arrested because she was working alongside a cameraman who was not a member of her family, with Taliban officials accusing her of being accompanied by a "stranger male cameraman". The journalists were reportedly transferred to a Kabul police station before being released later that evening following mediation by colleagues and family members.

On 26th July 2026, the arrest of local journalist Azizullah Aziz in Nangarhar Province was reported. Aziz was reportedly being held by members of the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, with no clear legal basis or judicial warrant reported for his detention. There was also no reliable information about his whereabouts or health, raising concerns among his family and the media community. The case added to concerns over the arbitrary detention of journalists and the risks faced by media workers in Afghanistan, particularly amid continued calls for the release of detained journalists and respect for their legal rights.

On 5th August 2026, Taliban intelligence officials detained Nazim Qasimy, a TOLOnews reporter, at his home in Faizabad, Badakhshan province. The de facto authorities have not publicly provided a reason for his detention. However, according to a local source cited by the Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC), his arrest may be connected to a Facebook post in which he criticised the treatment of Badakhshan residents by Taliban forces.

The continued detention of journalists by Taliban intelligence agencies remained another source of serious concern. On 7th July 2026, Javid Niazi, owner and publisher of Paigard News Agency, was released after spending almost two months in Taliban custody. Niazi had been summoned by Directorate 40 of the Taliban's General Directorate of Intelligence before being detained, yet authorities never publicly disclosed the reasons for either his arrest or continued imprisonment.

On 30th July 2026, the Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) announced the release of journalist Bashir Hatif after he completed a one-year sentence in Bagram Prison. Hatif had been arrested on 23rd July 2025 alongside journalists Shakib Ahmad Nazari and Abuzar Sarmal Sar-e-Puli during an operation carried out by Taliban intelligence officials and the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. According to AFJC, Hatif had been convicted by a Taliban military court of "propaganda against the Taliban administration" without access to legal representation.

Controls and crackdown on the media

The Taliban authorities continue to target individual media organisations and journalists through administrative action and arbitrary detention. While isolated developments, such as the reopening of selected broadcasters, appeared to suggest limited flexibility, they were accompanied by tighter control over ownership structures, licensing arrangements and editorial independence, indicating that media outlets are increasingly permitted to operate only within parameters defined by the authorities.

This was evident in the case of Rah-e-Farda Radio and Television, which resumed broadcasting on 21st–22nd June 2026 after being suspended earlier in the year. The broadcaster was permitted to return to air only after significant changes to its ownership and management. Official licensing documents issued by the Taliban Ministry of Information and Culture no longer listed former owner Mohammad Mohaqiq, with the licence instead transferred to new management. Although the Taliban provided no public explanation for the decision, the restructuring illustrates how media licensing has become an important tool through which the authorities reshape the ownership and governance of independent broadcasters. Rather than signalling a relaxation of restrictions, the station's reopening demonstrated that continued operation increasingly depends on compliance with conditions imposed by the Taliban.

On 23rd June 2026, Taliban authorities ordered the closure of Tamadon TV, one of Afghanistan's few remaining independent television stations known for broadcasting Shia religious programming. Officials from the Ministry of Justice reportedly raided the station's headquarters in Kabul, suspended its broadcasts, sealed its offices and detained Managing Editor Mohammad Rahmati together with media worker Mohammad Reza Ehsani. Authorities alleged that the broadcaster had maintained links to a political party and operated from disputed property, allegations rejected by the station's management. Condemning the closure, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) stated that the Taliban "continue to suffocate Afghanistan's independent media" and called for the immediate reopening of the station. Both men were released from Taliban custody on 1st August 2026.