Calling for the release of website editor Khaled Hadi, AFJC urged the local authorities to respect the Afghan Mass Media law and pursue any complaint they may have through the Mass Media commission.
The editor-in-chief of the Benawa website was detained by National Directorate of Security (NDS) personnel in southern Kandahar province on Tuesday 17 June 2014, an official said.
According to a Benawa statement, Khaled Hadi was detained at the Kandahar International Airport before he could board his flight for Kabul at 11am on Tuesday.
The governor’s spokesman, Dawa Khan Minapal, confirmed Hadi’s arrest to Pajwhok Afghan News, linking the action to write-ups against Governor Toryalai Weesa, his wife and other officials.
He said the articles released by Hadi on the Benawa web page violated journalistic principles. He said the editor was under investigation and details would be made public once the process was completed.
A resident of Kandahar, the editor-in-chief of Benawa presently lives in the United States. Hadi, who recently came to Kandahar to visit his friends and relatives, was arrested before he could leave the country.
The Afghanistan Journalists Center is very concerned over Hadi’s arrest, condemns the action as illegal and calls on the Kandahar governor to release him as soon as possible.
AFJC urges the local authorities to respect the Afghan Mass Media law and pursue any complaint they may have through the Mass Media commission.
