Taliban Arrests 55 People on Criminal Charges in Takhar, Reports Bakhtar

Taliban announced that the group has arrested 55 people in Takhar over the past month on charges of “criminal offenses". Bakhtar News Agency reported that these people have been arrested on charges of murder, robbery, kidnapping, drug trafficking, and public disobedience.

The Taliban has been accused of detaining their opponents under false pretexts in various provinces of Afghanistan. The group has also been accused of not respecting the prisoners' rights.

In a report released in July, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) confirmed the torture, arrest, and killing of dozens of people by the Taliban over 11 months since their takeover in 2021.

Even global rights watchdogs, like Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International, have expressed deep concerns over the torture and arbitrary arrests of civilians. HRW in a statement had said that the Taliban tortured civilians and in some cases the detainees lost their lives due to the torture.

Amnesty International too has published accounts of arbitrary arrest of journalists and former Afghan soldiers under false pretexts.