On Thursday, the Taliban’s Ministry of Justice announced the closure of Tamadon TV, alleging that the broadcaster was affiliated with the Harakat-e-Islami political party, after the Taliban banned all such affiliations, and operating on “seized land,” according to Qari Baraktullah Rasuli, the spokesperson for the Taliban’s Ministry of Justice who posted the statement on X, formerly Twitter, and media reports. Tamadon TV denies the claims.

In a breaking news announcement earlier that day, Tamadon TV stated that a Taliban delegation was inside its station to shut down operations. However, later the TV station confirmed that the suspension of its operations was postponed until Saturday. The Taliban has not announced an exact date that it plans to close the station. 

“The Taliban must immediately and unconditionally reverse its decision to ban Tamadon TV and allow the channel to continue broadcasting,” said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi. “The Taliban is expanding its relentless crackdown on Afghan media and suppressing any independent voices. This must end.”

On June 6, Mohammad Jawad Mohseni, director of Tamadon TV, rejected the Taliban’s claims about the broadcaster’s political affiliations, according to broadcaster Afghanistan International. Mohseni noted that the late founder of the TV station, Ayatullah Asif Mohseni, had resigned as the leader of Harakat-e-Islami in 2005, years before establishing Tamadon TV.

Mohseni said that “the land for Tamadon TV was purchased from a private owner and has a legitimate and legal title deed, and it is not and has never been government property.”

On February 18, 2023, about 10 armed Taliban members raided the headquarters of Tamadon TV in Kabul, beat several staff members, and held them for 30 minutes.

Tamadon TV is predominantly owned and operated by members of the Hazara-Shia ethnic minority and covers political and current affairs as well as Shiite religious programming. Hazara people have faced persecution and escalated violence since the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021.

The closure order of Tamadon TV follows a series of other restrictions imposed on Afghan media in recent months. In May, the Taliban’s Media Complaints and Rights Violations Commission banned journalists, analysts, and experts from participating in discussions or cooperating with London-based Afghanistan International’s television and radio stations. The Commission called on citizens to boycott Afghanistan International and banned anyone from providing facilities for broadcasting the channel in public places.

Earlier, in April, the Taliban shut down Noor and Barya TV broadcasters, which were affiliated with other Islamist political parties, citing violations of “national and Islamic values.”

The Taliban has shut down other broadcasters since it took over the country in 2021,  including Radio Nasim. in central Daikundi Province, Hamisha Bahar Radio and TV in eastern Nangarhar province, and Radio Sada e Banowan in northeastern Badakhshan province. In 2022, the group also banned international broadcasters such as the U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the Voice of America.

CPJ’s requests for comment sent to Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid did not receive a response.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

On Tuesday, the Media Complaints and Rights Violations Commission banned the two broadcasters for violating “national and Islamic values,” without giving further details, according to media reports.

On Tuesday, Taliban intelligence forces stormed the headquarters of Noor TV in the capital, Kabul, disconnected the electricity, and sealed the premises, a former staffer told CPJ, on condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal.

Barya TV also was taken off air, according to a journalist familiar with the situation who also spoke to CPJ on condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal. Sources could not confirm whether its offices were also sealed.

“The Taliban must immediately and unconditionally reverse its ban on Noor TV and Barya TV and allow the two channels to resume broadcasting,” said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi. “The Taliban are misusing the Media Complaints and Rights Violations Commission to stifle the press in Afghanistan, arbitrarily closing media houses, without regard for freedom of speech.”

Ministry of Information and Culture spokesman Khubaib Ghufran told Agence France-Presse news agency on Thursday that the channels had programs “creating confusion among the public” and their owners had “taken stands as opponents” of the Taliban government.

Hafizullah Barakzai, a member of the commission, told ABC News that a court would investigate files on the two stations, which could not operate until the court gave its verdict.

Pressure had been mounting on Barya TV from Taliban intelligence since late 2023, forcing the broadcaster to lay off most of its staff, CPJ’s journalist source said. The journalist source said that the Taliban’s pressure increased on Barya TV because of Hizbe Islami leader’s criticism of the group’s policies and the TV channel’s broadcast of these criticisms.  

Both of CPJ sources indicate that the specific violations and issues brought before the court have not been disclosed by the Taliban.

Noor TV was established in 2007 by former president Burhanuddin Rabbani, who was assassinated in 2011. It is currently owned by his son, Salahuddin Rabbani, an exiled former foreign minister and leader of the Jamiat-e-Islami party.

Barya TV was founded in 2019 by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former warlord and leader of the Hizb-e-Islami party. Its programming focuses on politics and news about Hekmatyar,

The founder’s son, Habiburrahman Hekmatyar, said on X, formerly Twitter that the channel was shut down because its religious values differed from those of the Taliban.

Barya TV editorial manager Qazi Shabir Ahmad rejected the commission’s claim that Barya TV violated Islamic and national interests and said that the April 16 ban was a “pretext” for stopping its operations. He told CPJ that the Taliban did not communicate any specific issues concerning their broadcasts, either in writing or verbally, prior to the ban, which he described as “politically motivated”.

Since the Taliban took over in 2021, they have shut down local broadcasters, including Radio Nasim in central Daikundi Province, Hamisha Bahar Radio and TV in eastern Nangarhar Province, and Radio Sada e Banowan in northeastern Badakhshan Province. In 2022, the group also banned international broadcasters such as the U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the Voice of America.

CPJ’s text messages to Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid requesting comment did not receive a response.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

On Sunday, December 10, a Taliban court in the city of Nili, in central Daikundi Province, sentenced Jawadi, director of the independent Radio Nasim, to one year in prison, according to local media support group the Afghanistan Journalists Center and two journalists familiar with his case, who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, due to fear of Taliban retaliation. He was convicted of spreading anti-regime propaganda, committing espionage for foreign organizations, and cooperating with foreign media, the two journalists told CPJ.  

The ruling was issued in the presence of Jawadi and his wife, with the local Taliban’s intelligence agency presenting the charge sheet just before the start of the closed-door proceeding. Jawadi was taken back to prison after the verdict, according to those sources.

Jawadi was detained alongside two other journalists from the radio station, Saifullah Rezaei, and Mojtaba Qasemi, on October 7. The two other journalists have since been released.

“Taliban authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Radio Nasim director Sultan Ali Jawadi and stop detaining Afghan journalists and media workers,” said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi. “This is a grave injustice. Jawadi’s conviction on vague charges during shoddy legal proceedings shows how the Taliban’s sweeping measures against journalists are impeding even basic newsgathering.”

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid did not immediately respond to CPJ’s request for comment.

Since the Taliban retook control of the country on August 15, 2021, the Taliban’s repression of the Afghan media has worsened. On the second anniversary of the group’s return to power, CPJ called on the Taliban to stop its relentless campaign of intimidation and abide by its promise to protect journalists in Afghanistan.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

On Saturday, three Taliban intelligence operatives took the independent Radio Nasim’s director, Jawadi, and two of its journalists, Rezaei and Qasemi, from Jawadi’s home in the city of Nili in central Daikundi Province and detained them in an unknown location, according to the non-profit Afghanistan Journalist Center and a reporter familiar with the case, who spoke to CPJ on condition of anonymity, citing fear of retaliation.

It was the second time in 10 days that the Taliban detained the three journalists. On September 27, the Islamist militant group’s intelligence operatives raided and sealed Radio Nasim’s office, stopped it broadcasting, and took Jawadi, Rezaei, and Qasemi to the provincial intelligence headquarters, the reporter said. The Taliban freed the Radio Nasim journalists after five hours but retained their mobile phones, the reporter added.

“The detention of Radio Nasim’s director and two journalists in Daikundi Province is another example of the Taliban’s far-reaching—and intensifying— crackdown on the media in recent months in Afghanistan,” said Beh Lih Yi, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “Taliban authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Sultan Ali Jawadi, Saifullah Rezaei and Mojtaba Qasemi and end this practice of detaining journalists and closing media outlets.”

CPJ could not immediately determine the reason for the journalists’ detention. Radio Nasim reports on current affairs and rebroadcasts content from an international radio network.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid did not respond to CPJ’s request for comment via messaging app.

Since the fall of Kabul on August 15, 2021, the Taliban’s repression of the Afghan media has worsened. On the second anniversary of the group’s return to power, CPJ called on the Taliban to stop its relentless campaign of intimidation and abide by its promise to protect journalists in Afghanistan.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Arlene Getz/CPJ Editorial Director.