Date: 27/10/1403

Local sources in Bamyan Province reported that the Taliban have sentenced Suleiman Sami, a schoolteacher, to seven years of imprisonment and 35 lashes on charges related to alleged activities against the Taliban on social media. According to sources speaking to Etilaat Roz on 25 December 2024, Suleiman Sami originally from Yakawlang No. 1 District and employed as a teacher in Panjab District has been held in Taliban custody for approximately ten months. Sources stated that a Taliban intelligence official identified as Ahmadi demanded USD 5,000 in exchange for his release. When the payment was not made, Suleiman was allegedly severely beaten and tortured, requiring medical treatment before being returned to detention. A Taliban court in Bamyan Province later convicted him, accusing him of engaging in activities against the Taliban and of operating an anonymous Facebook page that allegedly made accusations against individuals.
Letter translation:
Sulaiman the son of Ibrahim a student was arrested on the 6th of Hamal 1403 corresponding to the 16th of Ramadan 1445 at 1:00 a.m. midnight in Tir-e Wahdat, Yakawlang District. He was captured by the Intelligence Director a man named Ahmadi through a person who was the head of the local council and a spy for them.
This was done without any legal order or permission from any official authority and without any respect for human dignity. They violated the family’s privacy created fear and terror among his family and neighbors and entered the house by force. They brutally arrested him and stole his personal belongings.
At first the Intelligence Director told the family at his office that if they paid him five thousand dollars, he would release Sulaiman but if they did not he would destroy and ruin him forever. When he could not get the money, they beat Sulaiman severely punching, kicking, and torturing him and then transferred him to the Intelligence Headquarters in Bamyan.
After arriving there from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. two or three people continued to beat him so badly that he became half dead. He was then taken to Mullah Ghulam Hospital and doctors said that if he had arrived a few minutes later, he would have died. Thanks to the great efforts of the doctors he survived.
When they arrested him at midnight, they had assured his family and neighbors that he would be released healthy and safe the next day. Later when the Governor of Bamyan, Abdullah Sarhadi, visited the hospital at 11:00 p.m. he also promised that after Sulaiman recovered, he would be released.
However, after six days of medical care instead of returning him to his family they secretly transferred him to prison under the excuse of releasing him and again the Governor of Bamyan Abdullah Sarhadi did not keep his promise.

The arrest, prolonged detention, torture, and sentencing of a schoolteacher in Bamyan Province illustrates the use of intelligence-led repression to criminalize expression and dissent under the guise of security enforcement. The alleged demand for payment in exchange for release, followed by severe physical abuse when the demand was not met, points to coercion and extortion operating alongside formal detention. The subsequent conviction for social media activity reflects the conflation of peaceful expression with security threats and the use of the judiciary to legitimize intelligence abuses. Implemented through processes lacking transparency, independence, or due process guarantees, the punishment functions as a warning against speech and civic engagement, undermining personal liberty, bodily integrity, and academic freedom.