Journalists beaten for covering women’s rights protest

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Daniel Sharp

Journalists in Afghanistan claim they were subjected to a harrowing ordeal while simply doing their job. Several reporters from Etilaatroz were sent to document a women’s rights protest in Kabul. That is when Taliban gunmen descended upon them. They were physically restrained, and taken to a local police station. Upon arrival, they were severely beaten.

Journalists in Afghanistan claim they were subjected to a harrowing ordeal while simply doing their job. Several reporters from Etilaatroz were sent to document a women’s rights protest in Kabul. That is when Taliban gunmen descended upon them. They were physically restrained, and taken to a local police station. Upon arrival, they were severely beaten.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We are journalists. On Wednesday, some of the women have protest and we decided to cover the protest for <a href="https://twitter.com/Etilaatroz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Etilaatroz</a> daily newspaper;the organisation which we work for.<br><br>During the protest, the Taliban took us to the PD3 at Karte Chahar_Kabul, Afghanistan. What they did to us; <a href="https://t.co/XXWz4C1Yh5">pic.twitter.com/XXWz4C1Yh5</a></p>&mdash; Taqi Daryabi (@DaryabiTaqi) <a href="https://twitter.com/DaryabiTaqi/status/1436379509813547008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Daryabi stated, “They were beating me by the whip, electric rod and whatever they had in their hand.”

BBC’s Secunder Kermani interviewd Daryabi, who said, “They took me to another room and handcuffed my hands behind me. I decided not to defend myself because I thought they would just beat me even worse, so I lay down on floor in a position to protect the front of my body.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The schools in Afghanistan will be start only for the boys. Think about the small girls who lost their big hopes; Just tuching my heart and can&#39;t imagine how they feel now😥</p>&mdash; Taqi Daryabi (@DaryabiTaqi) <a href="https://twitter.com/DaryabiTaqi/status/1438906762116177924?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

He continued by saying, “Eight of them came and they started beating me… Using sticks, police sticks, rubber – whatever they had in their hands. The scar on my face is from shoes where they kicked me in face.”

Photographer Nematullah Naqdi said that Taliban fighters attempted to steal his camera. Naqdi stating, “One of the Taliban put his foot on my head, crushed my face against the concrete. They kicked me in the head… I thought they were going to kill me.”

Despite the Taliban now seeking a spot in the United Nations, there have been many recent cases of documented cruelty. However, the abuse of these journalists serves as a bloody reminder that freedom of speech, and freedom of the press, is never guaranteed to pass from one generation to the next.

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