Taliban execute Afghan citizen-journalist

Noori, who worked for the Farah regional government as well as hosting two programmes on Radio Neshat, was travelling on a bus with around 30 other passengers when it was stopped and searched at a Taliban roadblock.

The Taliban shot him after finishing their search. “He was killed after being checked and then moved to one side,” a witness said. The Taliban later issued a formal statement announcing “the execution of an enemy officer during a control.”

Aged 27, Noori began hosting a Radio Neshat programme called “Psychology of the Green Life” in 2016, after completing his psychology studies at the University of Kabul. For the past year, he had also been hosting the “Friday evening” programme on social issues.

“This summary execution is the first death of a journalist in 2019 to be registered on RSF’s barometer,” said Reza Moini, the head of RSF’s Afghanistan-Iran desk. “There is an urgent need to end such practices. We reiterate our appeal to the international community to condition the start of any talks with the Taliban on their giving an explicit undertaking to respect international humanitarian law’s basic treaties, starting with the Geneva Conventions.”

The world’s deadliest country for the media in 2018, with a total of 15 journalists killed, Afghanistan is ranked 118th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2018 World Press Freedom Index.