One has large, red marks over the back end and legs, the other has similar marks on the shoulder and arm.

On Wednesday, Zaki Daryabi, founder and editor-in-chief of the newspaper Etilaat Roz, shared several photos of two male journalists who he said were beaten by the Taliban after watching Afghan women protest against the new regime.

Daryabi describes the beating as an icy message to the media in Afghanistan, where otherwise an independent press has flourished over the past 20 years, much thanks to financial support from the West.  

"Five of our colleagues were detained for more than four hours, and during those four hours, two of them were brutally beaten and tortured," he told Reuters on Thursday, the day after the incident.

The pictures have been verified by the news agency, and bruises and wounds can be seen on the faces of both men.

- When I saw the pictures that they had been tortured, I felt disgust and anger.

I was also scared and worried about colleagues who are in the country, says Erik Halkjaer, chairman of Reporters Without Borders.

Harassment, threats and violence

When asked about the beaten journalists, a minister presented to the new Taliban government on Tuesday replied that any attack on journalists should be investigated.

The Minister did not want to be named.

Since the movement captured the capital Kabul on August 15, the Taliban have promised to protect journalists and respect freedom of the press, but Halkjaer believes that the reality is something completely different. 

Afghan journalists have been subjected to harassment, threats and violence.

- We did not trust the Taliban, but still hoped that the promise would be fulfilled.

It has not done so, says Halkjaer and continues:

- In addition to the arrested journalists, we have also seen how journalists were stopped from covering demonstrations and had equipment smashed.

In particular, many female journalists are unable to work at all.

Protests in several places

At the same time, protests have been seen in several parts of the country.

Two people were killed and eight were injured in what became known as the Taliban rally in the northwestern Afghan city of Herat on Tuesday.

A doctor who works at a hospital in the city tells AFP that "everyone was shot".