Taliban detain US journalist, Afghan producer in Kabul; call them 'American spies': Report

A media watchdog in New York, US, has asked the Taliban to free American journalist and independent filmmaker Ivor Shearer as well as Afghan producer Faizullah Faizbakhsh immediately and stop holding journalists as prisoners. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), on August 17, Shearer and Faizbakhsh were shooting in District 10's Sherpur region in Kabul, where a US drone attack earlier that month claimed the life of Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, when numerous security officers stopped them. 

Speaking about the incident, Voice of America-Dari, a broadcaster supported by Congress, and two journalists with knowledge of the situation spoke with CPJ on the condition of anonymity, ANI reported.  

CPJ noted, citing the journalists familiar with the situation, “The guards questioned them about their activities and checked their work permits, ID cards, and passports; they then confiscated the journalists’ cellphones, detained them for a couple of hours, and repeatedly called them ‘American spies'."

The security personnel then made a call to Taliban intelligence, and around 50 armed intelligence agents showed up. They blindfolded Shearer and Feizbakhsh and took them to an unidentified location, according to the journalists with knowledge of the matter. 

American filmmaker detained in Afghanistan

As per the journalists acquainted with the situation, Shearer entered Afghanistan in February 2022 on a one-month visa after obtaining a work authorization from the Taliban Ministry of Foreign Affairs to create a documentary about the previous 40 years of Afghanistan's history. The Journalists further added that Faizbakhsh who work as a producer and supports international journalists in Afghanistan was contracted by Shearer 

The Taliban's Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs granted Shearer a one-year work permit on March 3, and he was able to renew his visa to stay until September. Later, Shearer was called to the Taliban's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the middle of June, where he was interrogated and requested to provide examples of his prior work, a journalist who talked with CPJ. 

As per sources, Shearer was informed that he was called to the ministry because Taliban intelligence was suspicious about his stay in Kabul. A journalist close to the matter claimed that Shearer was interrogated by many Taliban intelligence officers about his work and stay. Many even visited the guest house in Kabul where Shearer was staying in mid-July. The journalist added that Shearer was unsure whether the visit was routine or if he was being singled out because of his presence. 

As previously reported by CPJ, Balkhi, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Taliban, summoned Shearer once more on August 16. Shearer expressed anxiety to the source about the summons and said he was unsure whether the Taliban would continue his visa through September or drive him out of the nation. 

Previously, in April, the Taliban detained and attacked Mohibullah Jalili, a journalist and anchor of 1TV, the country's most popular TV channel, in Afghanistan. Jalili alleged that armed men stopped his vehicle and held him at a checkpoint in Kabul, the capital city. He claimed that when he asked why he was being detained, the response was that he was the one who had destroyed this country. He added that they questioned him about the nation he worked for. 

(Image: AP/ Shutterstock)