Afghanistan Ranked 178th in World Press Freedom Index as Taliban Escalates Media Crackdown
Afghanistan has been ranked 178th out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index 2024, marking a steep decline in media freedom since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021. This year alone, the Taliban have shut down at least 12 media outlets, both public and private, further tightening their grip on press freedom. Arezo TV, the latest station to be silenced, was raided on December 4, with seven of its employees detained in Kabul’s Pul-e-Charkhi prison. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned these actions and called for the immediate release of the detained journalists.
Increasing Censorship and Restrictions
The Taliban have labeled music, fictional programming, depictions of living beings, and critical news coverage of their policies as “transgressive” content, leading to widespread media shutdowns across seven provinces.
So far in 2024, eleven television stations and one radio station have been completely closed, while three radio stations were temporarily suspended and later allowed to resume broadcasting under strict conditions—such as banning music.
Since the introduction of a stringent “morality law” in April 2024, Afghan media outlets have come under even greater pressure. In October, the Taliban enforced a nationwide ban on images of living beings, forcing several television stations to cease operations in provinces including Kandahar, Helmand, Takhar, and Badghis.
In Badghis, the privately owned Oboor TV remains the only television station still partially operational, airing just one hour of programming per week under strict restrictions.
Political Suppression and Media Raids
Arezo TV’s closure followed a raid by the Taliban’s General Intelligence Directorate (GDI) and the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. Witnesses report that staff were mistreated, mobile phones were confiscated, and equipment—including 60 hard drives and three computers—was seized.
The station was accused of having ties with exiled Afghan media and airing soap operas deemed “contrary to Islamic values.”
This is part of a broader crackdown on media outlets perceived as politically problematic.
In April, Noor TV and Barya TV, two private channels linked to political figures and former warlords – Burhanuddin Rabbani and Gubuddin Hekmatyar respectively, were forced to shut down.
Noor TV was penalized for allowing female staff to appear on screen without covering their faces, while Barya TV was sanctioned for broadcasting remarks by its owner, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, regarding Taliban-U.S. relations.
Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, at least 141 journalists have been arrested or detained, with 25 arrests occurring in 2024 alone. A quarter of these journalists were detained due to their alleged connections with exiled Afghan media.
The increasing number of detentions and media closures underscores the Taliban’s tightening grip on information and the eroding state of press freedom in the country.
Calls for International Action
RSF has condemned the Taliban’s escalating suppression of media and has urged the immediate release of all detained journalists.
“The ideological hardening of the Taliban in recent months has accelerated repression and increased threats against media outlets in Afghanistan,” said Célia Mercier, Head of RSF’s South Asia Desk.
The brutal raid on Arezo TV in Kabul exemplifies the dire state of press freedom in the country, stated mercier. We demand the unconditional release of these journalists and the restoration of free and independent reporting in Afghanistan.”
As censorship intensifies and media freedoms continue to erode, Afghan journalists face an increasingly perilous environment, with little room to operate freely under the Taliban’s stringent regulations.
