Afghanistan: Taliban releases detained foreign journalists as of Feb. 13 /update 1

Event

The Taliban has released two foreign journalists working with the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR), one of them being a UK national, from detention as of Feb. 13. Taliban authorities had previously arrested the journalists due to not having documents that identified them as working with the UNHCR. The Taliban had also reportedly detained several foreigners working with international organizations, though it is unclear if the Taliban has released them as well.

Context

Foreigners continue to face a significant risk of kidnappings and detentions in Afghanistan, particularly after the Taliban took power in August and international forces departed the country. Although locals are most frequently affected, foreigners remain high-value kidnap and detention targets. Civil organizations hold the Taliban responsible for recent crackdowns on activists and journalists.