Taliban Claims Radio Free Europe Journalist Arrested for 'Blasphemy'

Taliban officials have stated that the arrest of Habib-ur-Rahman Taseer, a journalist for Radio Free Europe, was on grounds of "blasphemy" rather than his media activities.

Sources report that Taliban’s intelligence agents arrested Taseer due to an audio message on the messaging app, WhatsApp.

Taseer has been under Taliban detention for nearly two weeks. Hamdullah Nasar, the Taliban's director of information and culture in Ghazni, confirmed the arrest last Thursday.

Nasar accused Taseer of "insulting sacred values and norms" on his social media page, although no further details were provided.

Moreover, the Hindukush site, which is linked to Taliban’s intelligence, released an audio clip showing Taseer in a verbal altercation with a mullah on WhatsApp, where he also insulted a friend.

Despite the accusations, a source informed Afghanistan International's Pashto service that Taseer's detention followed the publication of a report by Radio Free Europe. They suggested that while the journalist's report was the actual cause of the arrest, an audio message discovered on his phone post-detention is now being cited by the Taliban as the reason for his detention.

It is a common practice for Taliban agents to review the messages of civil activists and journalists on social networks and WhatsApp following their arrest.

The Afghanistan Journalists’ Center has called for the unconditional release of Habib-ur-Rahman Taseer.

The Centre also reported that Taliban’s intelligence agents seized all of Taseer's belongings, including his phone, during the arrest.

In the past two and a half years, the Taliban has detained and tortured numerous journalists, with many still remaining in captivity.