At least 42 cases of violence against journalists were registered in Afghanistan during the first six months of 2020, Afghan Journalist Safety Committee said on Sunday.
The number was lower than that registered during the same period last year, according to AJSC.
The cases include killings (2), injuring (11), beating (6), humiliation (9), abduction (4), threatening (7), stealing (2) and withholding salary (1).
Taliban and Daesh were involved in 18 cases of violence against journalists, while the government was responsible in 13 cases.
Najib Sharifi, head of AJSC, also expressed concern about the possibility that gains made in the field of freedom of speech and media would be ignored during peace talks with the Taliban.
He also criticized that there is no representative of media in the government’s negotiating team.
“The Afghan government will strongly support freedom of media in the Afghan peace process as one of the core values of our Republic,” Sediq Sediqi, a presidential spokesman said. “Afghan government will hold a principled position in the talks, formed by the values of our open society and gains of the past 19 years.”
“The Taliban must not look into an alternative, they better adhere to the reality,” he said.
