▲ Afghan journalists show the wounds of being assaulted by the Taliban


With the international community's attention focused on the Taliban, an Islamic militant group that has formed a new government in Afghanistan, concerns about the Taliban's suppression of the media are growing.



British media The Guardian reported on the 9th (local time) that there was a series of Taliban attacks on journalists in Afghanistan.



The International Press Committee on the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) said at least 14 journalists have been released after being detained by the Taliban while covering women's rights protests in the Afghan capital Kabul over just two days this week.



At least six of these journalists were found to have been assaulted during arrest or detention.



Several journalists, including those working with the BBC, were also banned from filming the protests.



Tolonews photographer Wahid Ahmadi was detained by the Taliban on the 7th and had his camera taken away.



Photos and specific testimonies that have spread online, including through social media, show the seriousness of the violence against journalists.



Looking at photos of two male journalists detained by Taliban fighters while covering a protest in Kabul on the 8th, the assault resulted in large bruises on their backs.



One of them, photojournalist Nematula Nakhdi, said he was taken to a police station in Kabul and accused of organizing the protests and then beaten with clubs, electric cords and whips.



"One of the Taliban fighters put their foot on my head and pressed my face against the concrete," Nakdi said. "I felt like I was going to die." .



At the time, he said, when asked, 'Why am I right?', he said he heard from a Taliban member, "You're lucky that you weren't beheaded."



At a press conference on the 17th of last month, two days after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, the Taliban said that they wanted media activity in Afghanistan to be conducted independently while respecting Islamic values, but in reality media coverage is extremely controlled.



In particular, the Guardian pointed out that even after the Taliban announced the formation of a transitional government on the 7th, assaults on journalists continued.



A senior Afghan journalist was concerned that reporters were feeling increasingly threatened by local Taliban fighters.



"There is a big difference between the Taliban in the media and the Taliban on the street," the journalist said. "The Taliban on the street do not understand and are very strict.



"I think freedom of the press in Afghanistan is over. People cannot criticize the Taliban in the press," he lamented.




(Photo = provided by social media, Yonhap News, Getty Image Korea)