Taliban Sentences Journalist Mehdi Ansari To One And A Half Years In Prison

The Afghanistan Journalists Support Organisation announced that Mehdi Ansari, a reporter for the Afghan News Agency, has been sentenced to one and a half years in prison by the Taliban's court in Kabul.

The organisation has called on international organisations to take serious action to release the journalist.

Mehdi Ansari disappeared in October this year after leaving his office in the Pul-e-Surkh area of Kabul.

However, the Afghanistan Journalists Support Organisation said in a statement on Wednesday, January 8, that "the arrest of Mehdi Ansari and the charges against him on the basis of anti-government propaganda are illegal and contrary to the principles of freedom of expression".

According to a letter provided to the media, it was reported that the Taliban had issued a prison sentence for Mehdi Ansari on charges of "anti-government propaganda".

The organisation has emphasised that the arrest of Mehdi Ansari and similar actions pose a serious threat to freedom of expression and is a warning to the Afghan media community.

With the group regaining control of Afghanistan, the activities of journalists and media inside the country have been severely restricted.