According to some sources, Sultan Ali Jawadi was found guilty of "propaganda against the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" and "espionage for foreign countries."
This statement was originally published on afjc.media on 12 December 2023.
Sultan Ali Jawadi, the manager of the Nasim private radio station, has been sentenced to one year in prison by the primary court of central Daikundi province. The Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) expresses deep concern regarding this sentence and calls for a review of the decision, as well as the immediate release of this esteemed local journalist and reopening of the radio station.
A local source told AFJC that Sultan Ali Jawadi was summoned to the city’s primary court in Nili, the capital of Daikundi province, yesterday morning. During the hearing, Jawadi was sentenced to one year in prison. His wife was present at the meeting, witnessing the verdict, after which Jawadi was subsequently transferred to prison.
At this stage, local Taliban officials have refrained from commenting on the sentence. However, reliable sources within AFJC have disclosed that Sultan Ali Jawadi was found guilty of “propaganda against the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” and “espionage for foreign countries.”
On September 27, 2024, Jawadi, along with Saifullah Rezaei and Mojtaba Qasemi, two reporters of Radio Nasim, received summonses from the Daikundi intelligence office, and the radio was forcibly closed on charges relating to the reiteration of Radio Azadi (RFE/RL’s) programs and propagating against the Taliban government. Subsequently, Jawadi, Rezaei, and Qasemi were arrested and interrogated for several hours until the evening of the same day.
Regrettably, on October 7, the intelligence authorities re-arrested the three Radio Nasim employees. Qasemi was detained for six days, Rezaei for eleven days, and Jawadi for seventeen days. However, AFJC confirms that arrangements were made for the release of the three journalists following the provision of guarantees.
According to the AFJC source in Daikundi province, the prison term for Jawadi includes the seventeen days he spent in detention, leaving him with the remaining time to serve. The source has indicated that this verdict is still subject to appeal, granting the responsible manager of Radio Nasim an opportunity to challenge the decision.
AFJC denounces the initial one-year prison sentence for Sultan Ali Jawadi, the manager of Radio Nasim, as unfair and unacceptable due to the absence of a defense lawyer during the trial process, resulting in an unclear proceeding. Expressing deep concern over this judicial outcome, AFJC urgently demands a thorough review of the case, immediate and unconditional release of the journalist, dismissal of the charges against him, and the reopening of Radio Nasim.
