Violence Against Journalists Rises Sharply in Current Year

National Union of Journalists in Afghanistan says 39 cases of violence against journalists recorded until this season, but now it reaches to 69 cases.

According to the recent findings of this union, security is still one of the main challenges for journalists in Afghanistan.

“Violence against journalists in Afghanistan increased compared to the last year,” said Fahim Dashti, CEO of National Union of Journalists in Afghanistan.

The National Union of Journalists in Afghanistan in its recent survey says that people complaint about government’s behavior and support with media outlets.

“A number of people complaint and accuse the government of negligence,” Dashti added.

Violence against journalists in Afghanistan seriously limits media freedom in the country, affecting the work of civil society organizations (CSOs) and reducing the efficiency of development efforts in the country.

Afghanistan’s budding media industry has seen significant progress in the past 14 years, with over 800 newspapers, 175 radio stations and about 80 television channels.

Although Afghanistan registered significant progress in defending rights of journalists and promoting freedom of the press, according to the World Press Freedom Index of a global media rights watchdog, the Reporters Without Borders (RSF), violence against journalists in Afghanistan did not disappear completely and “the Government neglected to tackle the issue of impunity.”

Freedom of speech has been seen as a key achievement of the Western-backed governments in Kabul over recent years.