Local Journalist Beaten Up By Gunmen In Mazar-e-Sharif

Sources told Afghanistan International that Najib Faryad, a local reporter for a private TV channel, was beaten up by gunmen in the city of Mazar-e-Sharif on Thursday morning, January 9.

Najib Faryad is a local correspondent for the private Ariana News TV in Balkh. According to sources, he was beaten up while he was going to cover the opening ceremony of an oil facility.
The sources did not mention the reason for the attack on the journalist or the identity of the perpetrators of the attack.
The incident comes even as the Taliban has recently intensified pressure on the media and journalists.
The Afghanistan Journalists Support Organisation had announced on Wednesday, January 8, that the Taliban had sentenced Mehdi Ansari, a reporter for the Afghan News Agency, to one and a half years in prison.