Date: 25/11/1403

The Taliban shut down 7 radio stations in the past year, the Journalists' Center says.n the occasion of World Radio Day, the Afghan Journalists Center said that the Taliban have increased the restrictions on the activities of radio stations in an unprecedented way. The Taliban have shut down at least seven radio stations and imprisoned a number of radio employees in the past year, the organization said.
On the occasion of World Radio Day, the Afghanistan Journalists Center said on Thursday, February 14, that despite the increase in people's access to the internet and information in cyberspace, radio is still a popular media and most people rely on radios to access information. With the Taliban's return to power, media freedom, especially radio, has been steadily restricted, the center stressed.
The Afghanistan Journalists Center (AJC) stated that the Taliban have issued at least 22 directives or decrees related to the work of the media in more than three years of domination of Afghanistan, which has had a special impact on the activities of radio stations. In a statement, the center wrote that the denial of women's right to work in "National Radio", the ban on the broadcasting of music, the ban on dialogue with opponents and critics, and the Taliban's intelligence and promotion of virtue supervision of radio broadcasts are among the restrictions imposed by the Taliban, which have negatively affected the activities of domestic radios.
According to investigations by the Afghanistan Journalists Center, the Taliban have threatened and imprisoned media officials and employees who ignored the group's orders. Six media workers, including three employees of two radio stations, are currently in Taliban custody, the organization said.
The Journalists' Center acknowledged that out of seven radio stations closed by the Taliban last year, at least three have not yet been allowed to reopen and continue their activities. The Afghanistan Journalists Center called on the Taliban to release imprisoned journalists and reopen closed radio stations.

This report documents the closure of multiple radio stations and the detention of media workers as part of the Taliban’s escalating restrictions on the media sector.