Amnesty International has called on the Taliban to release Afghan model and YouTuber Ajmal Haqiqi and his colleagues immediately.
Taliban forces have arrested Ajmal Haqiqi and three of his colleagues on blasphemy accusations. The Taliban’s intelligence agency confirmed the arrest of Haqiqi and his colleagues on Tuesday, June 7, with the release of a video of their confessions.
Four persons, including Ajmal Haqiqi, are handcuffed in a video shared on Twitter by the Taliban’s intelligence agency. Ajmal Haqiqi, model, and YouTube is among those who have coercively confessed to “promoting indecencies and insulting the verses of the Qur’an.”
However, this confession appears to be coerced as he read from a written script.
Amnesty International described the arrests as a “blatant attack on freedom of expression” and a flagrant breach of international law, according to the statement.
Amnesty International further stated that the Taliban should promptly release these individuals and not censor the ideas of those who choose to express themselves.
The Taliban must immediately and unconditionally release the YouTubers and end their continued censorship of those who wish to freely express their ideas.
Samira Hamidi, Amnesty International’s South Asia Campaigner
According to the statement, since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, they have been using “intimidation, harassment, violence,” and torturing people, according to Samira Hamidi, Amnesty International’s South Asia Campaigner.
Samira Hamidi remarked that the Taliban, as Afghanistan’s de-facto authorities, must uphold international human rights law and the right to freedom of expression without discrimination.
