Committee to Protect Journalists
330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001 USA
Phone: (212)
465‑1004 Fax:
(212) 465‑9568
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E-Mail:
media@cpj.org
AFGHANISTAN:
Editor of women’s rights magazine arrested
New
York, October 3, 2005—The
Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by reports
that police arrested the editor of a women’s rights’
magazine in Kabul on Saturday after local religious
leaders accused him of publishing anti-Islamic articles.
The High Court ordered the
arrest of Ali Mohaqiq Nasab, editor of the monthly
Haqooq-i-Zan
(Women’s Rights), after articles published in the
magazine were deemed “un-Islamic” and “insulting to
Islam” by local clerics, the Afghan Independent
Journalists Association (AIJA) and the Committee to
Protect Afghan Journalists reported. An AIJA
representative met with Nasab this morning in Kabul’s
Central Jail, and the editor denied publishing
anti-Islamic material.
A member of the Kabul
court, Zmarai Amiri, confirmed to the Pajhwok Afghan
News wire service that Nasab was jailed for publishing
anti-Islamic articles, which he said is prohibited under
Afghanistan’s press law. Amiri did not specify which
articles in the magazine were alleged to be
anti-Islamic.
A cleric from the
outskirts of Kabul filed a police complaint against the
magazine three months ago, saying it published material
“against Islamic teachings,” Pajhwok Afghan News
reported.
President Hamid Karzai
signed a revised media law in March 2004 that carried
over an existing ban on content deemed “insulting” to
Islam. Criminal penalties for press offenses were left
vaguely worded, leaving open the possibility of
punishment in accordance with the conservative Shariah
law. When the law was signed, government officials said
that journalists could only be detained with the
approval of a 17- member commission of government
officials and journalists.
“We are disturbed by this
arrest, which reflects a recent pattern of deteriorating
press freedom conditions in Afghanistan,” CPJ Executive
Director Ann Cooper said. “We call for the immediate
release of Ali Mohaqiq Nasab. Journalists should not be
jailed because of their work.”
In 2003, two editors of
the weekly Aftab
were jailed for a week on blasphemy charges for
publishing a controversial series of articles condemning
crimes committed by senior Afghan leaders in the name of
Islam. The two editors were later cleared of the
charges, but they were forced to leave the country
because of threats against their lives.
CPJ is
a New York–based, independent, nonprofit organization
that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide. For
more information, visit
www.cpj.org.
Abi
Wright
Asia
Program Coordinator
Committee to Protect Journalists
212-465-1004
www.cpj.org